Rocket's Exterminator
by BANIX
Summary: To borrow a quote I remember from my previous life, "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice". Right or wrong. Good or evil. None of that matter. I am the Rocket's Exterminator; it is my job to exterminate any and all threats to the organisation. But what I truly want, is to exterminate Team Rocket themselves. For that, I will wait. (Reincarnated OC)
1. Author's Note

**Author's Notes:**

I had always wanted to write a pokemon story from a villain's POV and I had this idea a long time ago, even long before I wrote The Sun of Sunyshore, but I put it on hold because back then I was unable to come up with the vital pieces of it that makes this story believable. Villain teams are a crucial aspect of the pokemon lore no matter which version of the game you play, and I don't particularly fancy stories that basically shows the mc giving a good ass-whooping to every villain team they see simply because they are the bad guys. People turn to crime for a variety of reasons. Some of them are understandable, some of them are not. I just want to explore that possibility a little more in this story in a universe where pokemon are real.

**ALERT!**

**Due to the nature of the plot of this story, which obviously is Team Rocket, I would like to warn that _you might be uncomfortable with certain elements that are explored in here_. The premise of this story is definitely a lot darker than what I usually write. **

**_You have been warned._**

This story was heavily inspired by a fanmade pokemon game that was a rework of the Firered edition, 'Firered Rocket edition' by _colonelsalt_ (correct me if I am wrong). I am a big fan of playing fanmade roms, hack or not, because I am able to enjoy the pokemon experience that is different from the official games and there is literally a whole new world for me to discover out there. There are some of these games that are extremely good, like Pokemon Florasky, Pokemon Light Platinum, Pokemon Glazed, etc etc. For those who are new to the idea of fanmade games, I heavily recommend Florasky for those who wants to try these games out. It is easy to understand and play for a beginner, but at the same time not losing the challenge and the magical experience that made pokemon, pokemon.

I don't know how many of you had played the game, but Firered Rocket edition is the best Team Rocket game I had ever played because it really allows you to steal pokemon like a true Rocket and advance through the ranks of the organisation. The plot of the game is extremely well crafted and is not just a pure '_steal pokemon simply because I can_' kind of game. Sadly, the game was never completed as far as I am aware, but in honour of the creator of Firered Rocket edition, certain elements of this story was inspired by the game which he had created.

And if somehow, by sheer luck, if colonelsalt reads this, whoever you are, I just want you to know that I am a big fan of your game. Even if you never got around to completing it, I would like to thank you for creating such a wonderful game that centres around Team Rocket. This story is dedicated to you because it was your game that inspired me to write this story. Hopefully, this story can live up to the success of what your game had achieved.

To everyone who read till this point, I hope you will enjoy this story.


	2. Chapter 1- Rocket's Exterminator

It is the thing that nobody tells you about, but everyone knows that it is there if they lived in the area long enough.

Deep within the slums of Fuchsia, there is a dingy looking bar whose interior is lit with flickering lightbulbs connected to an outdated electrical generator via exposed and frayed wires. A gruff old man manages the place, serving shoddy drinks to their regular customers. Very often, these people are the lowest of the lowest, thugs and criminals with little to no morals. His job isn't to question it, all he needs to do is to do his job and minding his own business.

And if someone happens to know the secret passcode of the week and pays enough cash under the table, he will discreetly lead them to the door at the back. A door with a faded poster advertising about the Pokemon League Tournament 70 years ago. A door that when opened, shows a flight of stairs leading down to an underground basement.

It is where the biggest underground pokemon tournament in Fuchsia takes place. It is a popular choice for many of the criminals of the underworld because of the amount of cash that flows in and out of the area, all of them coming from questionable sources and exchanged through shady hands. It is a frequent spot for anyone who wants to get involved in underground betting, something that is very much illegal in Kanto and around the world. It's not just the betting that is popular. This place is also home to prostitution, trafficking, and all sorts of shady dealings that rakes in a staggering amount of revenue for the criminal gang that controls this area, Marowak Skull.

In terms of size, Marowak Skull is not as large as other notable gangs or groups that made their homes in Kanto. Certainly not as large as their main rival, Team Rocket. However, when it comes to influence, almost every illegal dealing in the south of Kanto is somehow related to them. They have a finger in almost every pie as long as it is illegal and within their territory. People view them as the underground group that keeps Team Rocket in check, who is steadily growing stronger day by day with their influence reaching even Johto. Even the police turn a blind eye to their deeds sometimes, because checks and balances must be maintained. If one criminal group grew strong enough to usurp the other, it will not be good news for them. Better to have two groups of equal strength to keep each other in check, to let them fight their dirty battles with each other in the shadows. From a broader perspective, it will be easier to maintain the peace in Kanto using this method because the two groups would be too busy tearing each other's throats out to focus on expanding their influence properly.

Unfortunately for the police, Team Rocket is already strong enough to crush Marowak Skull by themselves. It was just waiting for the right opportunity.

There was a similarity between both criminal groups. Both groups had first started to grow in power by expanding from the town which they made their main base in before they start to assimilate other criminal gangs into their fold. Using their own power, they defeated rival gangs for territory and resources, coercing the defeated party to join them. It is how many notable criminal groups in Kanto first grow in strength. For Marowak Skull, their main hideout is in Fuschia. For Team Rocket, their secret base is located in Celedon. As to where exactly they are located, no one had a clue, but everyone knew that it is there. The one thing that everybody knew to stay clear of are the gang fights that results from the process of assimilating one group into another. These fights are often bloody and the police always arrive a little too late. It is dangerous, but such is a way of life for the people living in their cities' slums. All they can do is to get used to it.

The days of glory for Marowak Skull came to an end when a boy in his late teens, looking close to an adult but definitely not one, made his way into the underground betting ring, where spectators are cheering for their favourite competitor. A machamp is fighting it out with a snarling arcanine in a deathmatch. The deathmatch is the highlight which makes underground fights so different from the ones approved of by the Indigo League. In these underground matches, the price of victory is the death of your opponents. It provides a form of exhilaration that you cannot find anywhere else.

When the boy signed up to be a competitor, people only gave him curious looks. The looks didn't last long. In the underworld, your age doesn't matter. No one will question such trivial matters as long as you are able to produce results.

And the boy's results were stellar.

No one expected for a boy not yet a man to be so good at pokemon battling. By the fourth hour he is there, he is on a winning streak with ten wins already under his belt. He is the dark horse, the star of the day. Many gamblers lost their money to the few who were either lucky or smart enough to bet on the boy. The boy's hydreigon destroyed any pokemon that it had faced. It is an unstoppable force.

The scary part was that a hydreigon was all the boy used in his rise to fame.

"And the eleventh match for Jose! Jose versus Striker! Place your bets, everyone! Who will win? Jose's unbeatable hydreigon or our long-time favourite, Striker's Kingdra! This is a one-on-one battle, folks! The grand prize of 1,000,000 pokedollars may very well be yours the moment you place your bets!"

Jose is definitely not the boy's real name. Nobody uses their real names when doing dirty work in the underworld, you have to be very foolish to do so. Striker, a man in his late thirties, is on the other side of the arena sitting down on a stool. His monster of a kingdra floated by his side. Like the announcer said, he is a popular favourite among the regulars here. The odds are against the boy, no matter how stellar his results may be. Striker's strength was also what convinced Marowak Skull to hire him as their own personal hitman, and he proved himself useful to his employer on many occasions. Many police officers had died in the line of duty when Striker was sent out to ensure that Marowak Skull's interests are protected.

The boy's winning streak will most likely be put to a stop here.

It was one of the most brutal battles ever fought in the ring with the crowd chanting for their favourites from the side lines. The two dragons tore off each other's scales and blasted condensed beams of energy at each other that could have put a clean hole through any pokemon less hardy than them. There isn't a hint of sanity seen in Jose's hydreigon. What Jose have on his hands is a bloodthirsty dragon that will do anything to ensure that its foe stay down. Striker's kingdra is no pushover, but the hydreigon is certified insane even by the standards set by Striker himself, not hesitating to inflict damage on itself if it means inflicting the same damage onto his kingdra. The Draco Meteor that the hydreigon had fired proved his point. Hydreigon had bodily grabbed kingdra to ensure its Draco Meteor find its mark, even if it means taking an equal amount of damage for itself. It is a suicidal way of battling.

To those with a sharp eye and an even keener mind for pokemon battles, it comes as no surprise to them that the hydreigon managed to kill Striker's kingdra eventually, even if the hydreigon was barely standing on its legs when the battle had ended.

The crowd roared at the display. Someone had done the impossible and defeated the strongest pokemon of Marowak Skull's strongest hitman. A boy about half of Striker's age had done it. Striker was shoved to the side as important figures in the underworld all went up to congratulate the stoic boy for his win. Everyone wants to know who he is and whether he is interested to work for them. No one paid any attention to the defeated man, which is not a surprise to anyone in the basement. This is the underworld. The moment you outlived your usefulness, it's over for you.

The boy was hired by the highest bidder, Marowak Skull, on the spot, with benefits and monetary rewards far greater than what Striker was promised when the man first joined Marowak Skull. No one saw Striker after that day, but no one paid him any mind. He was most likely silently culled by his previous employer after his loss. There's no need to keep a tool that had outlived its usefulness. The most logical step to take will be to dispose of it to prevent the group's secrets from leaking out.

Little did anyone know, Marowak Skull's seemingly wise decision to hire the boy would be the start of their downfall.

It wasn't obvious at first, but by the time half a year had passed after the boy joined the group, Marowak Skull started to see a decline in revenue. Their clients are starting to stop using their services, turning their heads to their rival gang, Team Rocket, instead. By the time a year had passed, Marowak Skull was starting to panic. Team Rocket seemed to know their every move, their every secret, and the entire list of clients that they have. Team Rocket offer the same, or better services to Marowak Skull's clients. These clients are gradually drawn to the services provided by Team Rocket. Marowak Skull's services are no longer needed.

When Marowak Skull finally connected the dots, that Jose was likely a double agent sent by Team Rocket to steal their secrets, they mobilised their entire force to kill the boy to make a statement.

They ended up helping Team Rocket to make a statement instead when their entire force was decimated by Jose. No one knows how he did it since there weren't any survivors and all video footage caught on security cameras were somehow wiped clean. The only thing that everyone knows is that Team Rocket has a skilled trainer and an even better spy in their ranks. Just one day after the attack on Jose, every known base of Marowak Skull was somehow destroyed with its leader's corpse on display at the front of its hideout. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Team Rocket had finally decided to act.

Marowak Skull became history.

The boy faded back into the shadows after that. No one knew his real name and they are starting to doubt that he will ever come back. Disguises are a common way to hide your appearance in the underworld. All they can look out for is that monster of a hydreigon which he commands, which disappeared with its trainer.

With no proper name to call him by, the underworld took to referring Team Rocket's double agent as "Rocket's Exterminator", referencing to the fact that the boy was instrumental to Team Rocket's plan to exterminate Marowak Skull from the underworld. As far as they knew, the boy was never seen again.

Those with a greater understanding of how the underworld works knew better. The boy who is not yet a man is still out there, acting on Team Rocket's orders. He is merely acting under another identity, under another face, waiting to strike again when the order is given.

Rocket's Exterminator is still out there hunting for his next prey.

* * *

**AN: Here's officially presenting the oc that will be representing the Kanto region in the upcoming pokemon fics that I will be making, tying into the same world as the rest of my pokemon fics. I personally like the idea of this fic a lot, but that's just me. ****I will try not to make this story too angsty.**

**Hope you guys enjoy this story thus far. **

**Name: ?**

**Known affiliation: Team Rocket, Marowak Skull (disbanded)**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Hydreigon**

**2\. ****?**


	3. Chapter 2- Jane

_"From today onwards, you are Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar. You don't have a name, because you don't need one."_

Why am I here, again?

_"You have only one purpose, to maintain the peace of Indigo at all costs."_

Why should I? Don't I have a say on whether I want to do it?

_"You don't exist. People might say this is abuse, this is inhumane, but this is necessary."_

Really?

_"All of you are the unsung heroes of Indigo. Without you, millions of Indigo citizens might not be able to enjoy the peace they are experiencing today. They don't know you and they will never know what you did for them, but that doesn't mean we aren't important."_

I should have just stayed dead.

_"We will pair you into twos, that person will be your partner for your lifetime."_

This is even worse than child labour in my previous world. At least child labour gets paid.

_"Hi! My name's Jane! Operative 2043 Code name: Pikachu, at your service! It's nice to meet you, partner! What's your name?"_

Why is she so cheery? Doesn't she know what our job entails? There is a near 100% mortality rate for this job.

_"You don't have a name? That is **unacceptable**! What? The instructors didn't pick a name for you? WHY?! I will give you one then! I won't accept any objections!"_

Yeah, her name's Jane, the little cheery tyrant. This is how she looks like. This is how her voice sounds like. I remember now. I missed it.

I missed her.

_"This is my gastly! And this is houndour! Wait, oh right! I'm supposed to give you a name! Uh... we can't use it in the instructors' presence because we are supposed to use our assigned numbers, so… it will be our little secret? A secret only known by the two of us! Yay!"_

She really is a ball of sunshine. Why is she involved in this child spy business? She's not suited for this job.

_"Hmm… what about… AHH! Why is it so hard to think of a name?!"_

Name? Is that important? I cannot even remember what I used to be called and it feels kind of… empty. Heh, I'm supposed to be the adult here, right? At least in mind. Why am I so bothered about this?

_"Since we are partners, our name should be a matching pair! Your name needs to start with J! And then followed by A! But what boy's names starts with 'JA'? Hey, get me a dictionary so we can start picking out names already! Huh, you are telling me there's no dictionary for names?"_

Maybe we could make one in the future.

_"That's it! I thought of the perfect name! Your name will be 'Jayce'! Jane and Jayce! We are going to be the most kickass operatives ever! The Twin Js! … What do you mean 'Jayce' sounds weird?! I don't care! I won't accept any objections!"_

I remember that it felt kind of weird, that this name is mine to call yet not mine at the same time. But… it felt kind of nice that I'm more than just a number in the Indigo Government's database. Why am I relieving all of this again?

Where am I?

_"Urgh, training's tough. I think the stupid instructors broke a bone or something… Huh? For me? Thanks Jayce! You are a lifesaver!"_

Yeah, she's always like this. Getting herself hurt because her heart is too big. She's too kind to be living in this dark environment. She will get herself killed one day.

_"Hey, Jayce. Do you have a dream?"_

If I had one, I had forgotten about it. I barely remembered anything. My knowledge of this world wasn't a lot to begin with and most of it is not applicable anymore. I never expected this world to be this dark. Come to think of it, she is my only source of light here. The only one who treated me as more than Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar.

_"My dream? I **love** singing. I want to be able to sing one day in front of a large crowd. Hey, you can be my guitarist!"_

Guitar? I think I remembered a little of how to play it from my past life.

_"Pssssssst! Look! I got you a guitar! Come on, Jayce, play it! … What do you mean you don't know what to play? You said you **knew** how to play the guitar, right?! Everyone else's asleep and they can't hear us anyway! Just play something!"_

I remember that my fingers were clumsy, my rhythms were off, my notes were out of tune because I had forgotten to tune the guitar even before I started playing it, but at that point in time, I was happy. It was the happiest moment of my life because I found something that makes me, me. It's like I found a piece of my lost identity.

_"What song is that? It's pretty nice! Can you teach me?"_

What song? It just came naturally to me, what was the title again? All… of you? No, wrong name. All of me. Yeah, that was the name. Who sang it again? Jon… Jonny? Johnny Bravo? No, definitely not that. John… John Legend. Yeah, that should be his name.

_"John Legend? Who's that? How did you know such a guy anyway? I thought you had lived here almost your whole life? Never mind that, teach me!"_

I remember hoping that I remembered all the lyrics perfectly.

_"'Cause all~ of me, Loves all~ of you, Love your curves and all your edges~ All your perfect imperfections~ **WAIT**. Is this a love song? And you sang them to **me**?! Jayce! Did you just make a love confession to me?!"_

I have no answer to that. The only thing I remembered was that her voice was really nice. I like it when she sings.

_"You know, someday when we finally got out of this whole spy-on-criminal-organisations thing, we should totally go and be singers! You can be my guitarist, composer, lyricist, arranger, whatever whatever all in one! And I will be the lead singer! Gastly and houndour can be the… dancers? Can they even dance? And if we need more people, we can create our own band! I know! We can call ourselves the 'Twin Js'! Yeah, that's what we are going to be in the future! I won't accept any objections!"_

I wanted to say: '_The only way out of this is death, Jane_.' But I remembered holding my tongue because I don't want to dash her naïve hopes. There's no way we are going to get out of this alive. How many instructors had come and go? How many returned?

**Zero** returned.

Once we get sent out, we will never come back again.

The only way out is death. That is our life as spies. It's unfair. I didn't ask to be one. Neither did she. She was just an orphan taken out of the orphanage on the pretence of getting adopted by another set of parents, only to find herself here.

_"That settles it! When we finish all this mumbo jumbo spy crap, we will take the world by storm! We will be the best band EVEEEEERRR!"_

And somehow, I never doubted that she can. That means the only thing in the way of her dream is our line of work that was forced upon us. I need to make sure that she survives. I already had a chance in living, even if I had no clear recollection of it. She… This is her first chance.

She deserves to live.

_"I can't believe it, Jayce! We got in! They never suspected a thing! Now we are a part of Team Rocket! Infiltration success!"_

Our first assignment: infiltrate into Team Rocket by posing as homeless and desperate orphans. Convince them to take you in by showing your worth to them, that no one will miss you even if you die in the middle of nowhere. Team Rocket thrives by taking advantage of the people at the bottom of the social ladder, giving them the essentials they need for survival in exchange for their loyalty. These people are often too desperate and more than willing to risk their lives just to grasp at a chance for survival. Such people form the main force of Team Rocket. This is no longer a fictional world you see through your Gameboy.

This is now reality. Children are often their favourite targets. Too young, too naïve, too gullible, too easy, too eager to please the adults that had saved them from a fate worse than death. Too easy to manipulate them, to shape them into their liking.

Just like what the Indigo Government did to us.

This is the reality of the Kanto region. The reality that nobody sees or chose not to see.

_"A vulpix! So cute and fluffy! SQUEEEEEEEE! Can I hug it? Can I hug it? Pleasepleasepleaseplease-"_

We were talking in harsh whispers in the dead of the night, afraid of waking any Rocket grunts up. It was the night when my starter came into this world from an egg. We wanted to give it a name. She wanted to name vulpix and I wouldn't have an issue with it, but we are now officially members of Team Rocket.

To Team Rocket, pokemon are just tools. Tools don't need names. It felt ironic. To Team Rocket, pokemon are tools. To the Indigo, nameless orphans are their tools.

Which one of them is evil?

I don't know.

I don't know what is right and wrong anymore.

They all look the same to me.

_"J-Jayce?"_

I had never seen her so scared before.

_"T-They just found out about 2035 and 2072. T-They are… gone."_

They were the last pair that had infiltrated into Team Rocket, just like us. Team Rocket had gotten wind of Indigo spies infiltrating their ranks a few years back and they had been doing a nice job in slowly weeding out the moles. I don't know how they did it, they just did.

_"I-I'm scared… We are the only ones left."_

I'm scared too. We are the only ones left. I don't want to die.

More importantly, I don't want her to die.

_"What do we do?"_

I don't know. There's nowhere to run, nowhere to go. Abandoning this mission will spell certain death. The Government will definitely track us down to silence us for failing the mission, our existence must be kept secret at all costs due to the damage it will inflict on their reputation and image if their unethical practice got found out. Their secret group of child spies can never, ever, be revealed and they will take every measure to ensure that it stays this way.

I have no idea why they think using child spies is critical in protecting Indigo's safety. I never understood the rationale. I don't even know how they managed to make the whole child spies business work in the first place. Team Rocket will also undoubtedly kill us in the most morbid way possible if they ever discover our identity, just to make a statement.

We have literally nowhere to go. Both the light and the dark will hunt us down if we pulled out of this.

What do we do?

_"J-Jayce?"_

I remember her body trembling; her beautiful voice was shaking. She's shaken, she's scared. She hugged me and she doesn't want to let go. We don't want to be separated from each other. She doesn't want to die a gruesome death.

_"I-If I got found out one day, can you kill me personally? Make it swift. I-I don't want to suffer like 2035 and 2072. T-They died so s-slowly t-that.. I… J-Just promise me, okay? I-I won't accept any objections!"_

I can only agree. I tried to reassure her that everything will be okay. I don't know who I am trying to convince, me or her. At that point, I just want to see her smile again.

I never thought that I would have to uphold that promise.

_"AH! Let me go!"_

_"Finally caught you, traitor!"_

_"Who is this?"_

_"E-Executive Archer!"_

_"Just answer my question."_

_"She's a traitor! She has been selling our secrets to the League!"_

_"Oh really?"_

I remembered my heart stopped, my breathing hitched, my body going cold when I saw the grunts dragging her into the lobby. She struggled against her captors and they were pinning her down so that she cannot release her pokemon from their pokeballs. I never knew how she was found out. She's never suited for this life, but she was good at her job. They dragged her in, a young girl, the same age as me at sixteen-years-old, right in front of the lobby of our secret base where the entire Team Rocket forces stationed in Fuchsia was gathered to see the execution.

Archer wanted to use her death to make a statement.

Team Rocket doesn't tolerate traitors.

I wanted to act immediately. I wanted to save her, fight and claw our way out of here, screw the League and screw the Rockets, consequences be damned. However, my body suddenly froze and she beat me to the punch. She always did. For once, I really wished that she doesn't have such a quick reaction time.

_"PLAGUE! I HATE YOU! HOW CAN YOU BETRAY ME! I UNDERESTIMATED YOUR LOYALTY TO TEAM ROCKET!"_

Plague, that is the name people call me by in Team Rocket. Nobody uses their real name here, it would be foolish to do so in the underworld. We all go by codenames.

_"IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU-"_

It was a story she spun on the spot although I cannot remember what she screamed to the crowd from where she was being forcefully prostrated. I just remembered that it was a story so convincing that everyone believed it. I knew immediately what she was trying to do. She knew her death was inevitable, and she wanted to get the most out of the situation.

If she cannot survive this, then she would use her death to solidify my standing in Team Rocket. At the very least, my chances for survival will increase.

She wants me to continue spying on Team Rocket and rise up through their ranks to complete the secret mission we were given.

She wants me to continue to live on.

I will be the last spy sent by the Indigo Government left in Team Rocket, because any other spies that were sent in with us had all gotten their covers blown somehow. The Government are still investigating why that happened, but that doesn't change the fact that the Indigo Government can only now rely on the spies left that is already within the criminal organisation. That was me and Jane.

Now, it's only me.

_"Ladies and gentlemen, today, I will execute a traitor! Let this be known to you! Who gave you warm food and clean clothes when you had nowhere else to go? Who gave you a paying job when the Indigo League and the Government were useless fucks who don't give two shits about you? WHO gave you a roof over your heads and the power to do whatever you want? **TEAM ROCKET**! You should be grateful for our generosity! Drill this into the little brains of yours! Team Rocket will **never, ever, TOLERATE TRAITORS**!"_

I remembered my promise to her when I saw how her eyes betrayed what she really wanted. And even when I was shaking on the inside, I gathered the courage to stand in front of the crowd. They started murmuring as they recognised who I am, the one who 'ratted out' the traitor.

The Traitor Slayer. The Executioner. The _Exterminator_. That was what I will be known as after that fateful day.

I saw her eyes widened momentarily for a split second before it softened when I walked to the front. Then she continued to put up her act. Screaming herself hoarse, thrashing violently in her captor's grasp, accusing me of being a mindless dog working for Team Rocket and that she would not have gotten herself caught if it wasn't for me. Executive Archer didn't stop me. He just watched on as if he was watching a very interesting show.

I gave her the last gift I could as her friend.

I gave her mercy.

It was quick. The training given to me as a member of Team Rocket had been so ingrained in me. All it took was a flick of the wrist for my dagger to be out of its holster before I slit her throat. She wasn't expecting the sudden action. No one was expecting me to react this way without any prior warning.

It was a quick, clean kill. A mercy considering what Team Rocket is known to do to those it deems are their enemies.

Her look was one of surprise, but there was no mistaking the words she mouthed to me before she drowned in her own blood, gurgling uncontrollably for a few seconds before going still. Only I saw it.

_'Thank you, Jayce.'_

**_"GLORY TO TEAM ROCKET!"_**

I shouted those words and held up my bloodied dagger, still dripping with her blood, in an attempt to force my tears back. I don't want her sacrifice to be in vain. I don't want them to spot my shaking legs and find anything suspicious in my behaviour, I need to redirect their attention to elsewhere.

**_"GLORY TO TEAM ROCKET! GLORY TO TEAM ROCKET! GLORY TO TEAM ROCKET!"_**

They started to chant. My mind was still in a blur, watching her now still and lifeless body lying there on the floor. Her eyes are glazed over and are still open. It doesn't suit her. It's not supposed to be there. She was always so full of life.

I remember Archer giving me a promotion right there, on the spot, for my 'wonderful performance'.

_Wonderful performance indeed_. Even I fooled myself. I should have been an actor rather than a singer.

The crowd dispersed the moment Archer left. No one gave a second glance in her direction. I stood there, dazed. It was only when someone wanted to move her body out of the way did I react.

_"I will handle this."_

The least I can do now is to not let anyone desecrate her body.

I carried her in my arms gently, bridal style, arms shaking, when I was the only one left in the empty lobby. I silently exited through the back door of our hideout, the exit I know that rarely anyone uses.

No one would look for me if I was only gone for half an hour. Half an hour, that is all the time I have to grieve for her, my only friend which I had killed with my own two hands. Half an hour before people gets suspicious of my disappearance.

_"Exeggutor. Teleport to Viridian Forest."_

She said the only thing she remembered was that her hometown was at Azalea in Johto. She loved the forest there. There's no way I can reach there from Fuchsia in half an hour, but Viridian Forest should be good enough for her. I know she will understand. She always does.

I laid her down gently on the ground in an isolated hidden spot in Viridian Forest, far away from anything and everything else. She deserves some peace and quiet after what she had to live through. I took her pokeballs, only two of them, because she never got around to getting more pokemon on her team for whatever reasons. I suspected that she doesn't want to add more pokemon to her team only to possibly lose them later. Our line of work is dangerous and she doesn't like the idea of losing something she cares about. Haunter and houndoom howled in rage and sorrow when I released them and they saw her dead body.

_"I-I'm s-sorry."_

I remembered breaking down and apologising profusely. To whom, I don't know.

Haunter and houndoom mourned beside me. They understood. I had to do what I did because her end would be a lot worse if someone else did the execution. Jane and I had discussed it before. If one of us dies, the other would take care of their pokemon. Our pokemon knows about this arrangement that we had for them.

I will take care of them the best as I can.

Time was running out. We quickly gathered a large pile of dried leaves and twigs, me and our pokemon. We made a bed for her with it, and also piled some of them over her. We tried to make it as comfortable as possible for her.

I closed her eyes shut gently, cleaned off whatever blood I could. I combed through her dark brown hair with my fingers one last time, wiping away the blood on it. With shaking hands, I wiped away the blood on her face and wrapped a cloth around her neck where I had slit her throat. I tried my best to make her beautiful again. I want her to pass on with dignity.

She looks so peaceful.

She's free now.

I gently brushed her fringe away from her forehead and pressed a kiss onto it. I regret never telling her what I truly felt about her. I would have done anything for her.

I should never had hesitated. My body shouldn't have froze. Something in my mind held me back at the most crucial moment and I would forever live with that regret.

I regret hesitating. I should have just taken her away the moment her cover was blown, no matter how slim our chances were. I regret being too weak.

I regret being a **_coward_**.

I stood up and took a step back. It's time to send her off.

_"Ninetales, light the fire."_

That way, nobody can ever put their filthy hands on her ever again.

Ninetales' flames are strong. They are unholy, mystical, vengeful, sacred even. It only took a few minutes to reduce her to ash.

We managed to create a crudely made urn for her using rock type techniques. I placed her ashes inside and sealed it shut. Haunter took the urn gently and carefully, as if caressing her, taking in the sensation of the last touch with her trainer before laying Jane to rest.

And then haunter evolved.

We laid her to rest underneath a tree. We raised a slab of stone as a marker for her grave. Gengar's ghostly claws carved out a 'J' in the middle of the slab with my guidance. I don't want to risk writing her full name. I don't want to risk anyone finding out our identity, no matter how small the chance may be. At least not yet. Not until I can bring Team Rocket down like what Jane wanted me to do even if all I really wanted was to just roll over and die right then.

I'm tired. I just want to rest. I want to join her. I want to hear her sing again and I want to play the guitar for her again.

I don't know what I should do after this. Revenge? What for? Against who? The League? The Government? Or Team Rocket? Archer? Who?

What should I do?

But I should at least try to live, for her sake. She sacrificed herself for me so that we can complete the mission assigned to us. She had wanted to see Team Rocket go down, and that is the last thing I will do before my inevitable death.

Exeggutor took us back after I had dried my tears. From then on, I changed.

From then on, Archer placed me in charge of all extermination duties. He never suspected me, not after Jane's sacrifice. I squashed my cowardice and killed my emotions. I am good at my job, killing anyone that Team Rocket pointed their finger to. Man, woman, child, old, young, even our own members, it doesn't matter. As long as they are my targets, I will kill them.

There's no place that I cannot infiltrate. No secrets are safe from me because given enough time, I can find out whatever I want to find no matter how hard you try to hide it. Even if there's no proof, all I need is time. It doesn't matter if it is days, weeks, months, or even years. All I ever need is time. Time to find proof.

I will find the evidence I need for the whole world to turn against Giovanni. Indisputable evidence.

I know Giovanni is the true leader of Team Rocket. There's no way I can accuse him of being the leader of Team Rocket without solid proof because this is a huge and embarrassing scandal for both the Indigo Government and the Indigo League. Most likely, the Indigo League would cover up for him just to maintain their reputation if the evidence is not damning enough. They will need indisputable proof of my claim before they even consider taking any action against Giovanni. My words alone won't be enough. For now, I have to lie low if I don't want to alert any Rockets of what I knew. I have no proof right now because Giovanni is carefully smart about hiding his true identity, but I will find the proof. In time.

And I would like to think me being the exterminator is a form of mercy for my victims. Compared to how their end would have been if someone else were sent instead, their end by my hands was definitely kinder.

That was how the Rocket's Exterminator was born.

I never picked up the guitar again.

* * *

_"I-I'm scared… We are the only ones left."_

Jane? Is that you?

_"I-If I got found out one day, can you kill me personally? Make it swift. I-I don't want to suffer like 2035 and 2072."_

Jane? Don't go. Jane!

_"AH! Let me go!"_

LET HER GO!

_"PLAGUE! I HATE YOU!"_

I…loved you.

_'Thank you, Jayce.'_

**JANE!**

I woke up with a painful headache, my head felt like it had split into two.

Gengar must have used Dream Eater again. She always does that whenever she sensed that I had vivid nightmares about my past, stopping my nightmares abruptly before they consume me whole. The nightmares are getting frequent.

And I know with Dream Eater comes certain memory loss. It's not meant to be used on humans in this manner, doing so will have side effects.

Just what did I forget this time?

How long has it been?

_'A single night.'_

What's my name?

_'Jayce, but no one knows about that name now other than us. You are Indigo Government's Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar, but you are also Elite Officer Plague of Team Rocket.'_

My purpose? Why am I even here? Why am I even doing this? For the greater good? Is this… why I was reincarnated? Is this supposed to be heaven or hell?

_'I cannot answer you that. None of us had experienced reincarnation except for you. Go on, continue talking, only then can we help you recall what you lost. Talk about something, anything. Breathe, don't panic. We are here for you.'_

If… this is heaven, then I guess the presence of pokemon is a blessing. They are truly wondrous creatures. I remembered that I had befriended some and had hurt many more, all in the name of the greater good.

It's for the peace of the region, they say. Your sacrifices will be remembered, they say. The needs of the many outweigh those of the few, they say. All of these are necessary, they say.

If this is hell, then I really wonder what I did to deserve this. I really don't want to hurt anyone or any pokemon, _but I don't have a choice_.

Being a member of Team Rocket does that to you.

I remembered that I didn't have any say on whether I can opt out. If some higher being up there had purposely sent me here, I really wished that he or she had at least tried to warn me that whatever foreknowledge I have about the pokemon verse has been shot to hell and back. None of the so-called canon, plot, or whatever you call it is applicable here. This is not the anime world, nor the manga verse, or any pokemon universe that I know of. This is simply the world of pokemon. No more, no less. The only thing I know that remains the same are the key players that made the game of pokemon, pokemon. Like the Gym Leaders, for example.

I really didn't want to be a member of Team Rocket. I really hate doing the things they do and I hate myself even more for being picked up by that man.

_'You are starting to repeat yourself and your thoughts are still scrambled, but that is still a good sign. You haven't forgotten entirely who you are yet.'_

Who are you?

_'Your pokemon. Exeggutor. Turn to your left, we are right here, see? You ordered us to keep your mind sane whenever you lost some parts of your memories again from your reliance on gengar's Dream Eater to keep your fragmented mind functioning. Can you remember? Talk more about yourself to us. It helps every single time. Try to remember, what is your true identity?'_

I…am a spy, the best operative that the Indigo Government had ever produced. Picked up by the Indigo President himself at age three, who then inducted me into a secret and definitely illegal faction under his direct command. It is against the law for him to do such a thing, to have his own secret spy army, but it does not stop him from doing so anyway. The President of the Indigo Government has no faith in the Indigo League for whatever reasons that I am not privy to and he decided to do things his own way. The League and the Government are two separate entities. The League largely deals with pokemon related affairs while the Government deals with anything else not related to pokemon. They are not supposed to interfere with each other or undermine the other's authority like what the President is currently doing behind everyone's backs.

I still have no idea why the President chose _me_. I was put through a special programme dedicated to training child soldiers and by the time I was… eight, I think, I was sent to infiltrate Team Rocket, _forced_ to be a member of that criminal organisation in order to destroy it from within because it grew too big. The rationale? No one would ever suspect that a kid will be sent on an infiltration mission.

Whoever said that the world of pokemon is all sunshine and rainbows deserved to be kicked in the nuts, or wherever inflicts the most pain.

_'We agree, but do continue. What else can you remember?'_

I lived my life as if I walk on a tightrope every single day. I had to take orders from both the Indigo Government and Team Rocket and my secret status as a double agent is driving me insane. Every day I would wake up thinking whether it will be my last, whether my true identity would be found out. Every day I would wake up and feel immense guilt for what I had done and what I am doing and it is _crushing_ me. I know who exactly the true leader of Team Rocket is thanks to my foreknowledge, but as someone with a different identity in a different world, I cannot carelessly reveal that Giovanni is the leader of this organisation without raising some unneeded questions. The one thing that I would never let anyone find out about is my reincarnated status, no matter what happens.

I remembered that my secret insistence on that notion killed her.

_'We will ensure that your death will never happen. That is our promise to you as your pokemon, Master Jayce. Continue, remember your purpose.'_

Team Rocket is extremely secretive. Even when I had been in this organisation for more than a decade, I have never once saw Giovanni's face in our hideout or even heard a clue about anything that can lead me to his true identity. That's how good Team Rocket truly is. This is what a true criminal syndicate that holds control over the underworld that spans across two regions is capable of. This is not like the games where an eleven or twelve-year-old kid from a backwater town can easily defeat the leader of such an organisation. It is impossible. The Elites of this organisation are strong, some of them even have the capability to be a Gym Leader. They could probably be one if they did not make the wrong career choice. Team Rocket is known as the strongest terrorist group in the world for a good reason.

_'They will fall. We will see them fall, eventually.'_

The life of a spy is a hard one. I have to constantly feed information to the Government but making sure at the same time that my cover isn't blown. I remembered that I have to watch helplessly as horrific acts are done on pokemon but I cannot do anything to help. I even have to partake in some of these acts, but thankfully such instances are rarer now since I got myself promoted to the upper echelon. These works are mainly delegated to the grunts and the scientists, but still.

I. Hate. This.

_'We do too. They killed Jane. She was nice.'_

Jane.

I… killed her.

I miss her.

_'We all do.'_

But what else can I do? The only thing that I know how to do in this world ever since I found myself here as a nameless orphan is to be a spy. That's the only thing I know. I wasn't even given a name. The last person who gave me a name, Jane, had died in the line of duty. In the most classified files in the Government's database, I am simply Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar. That's all there is to my identity. Only the Indigo President knew about my existence and my true mission. I am the only operative left that hasn't been rooted out from Team Rocket. All of my other colleagues who were unfortunate enough to be sent on a similar mission as I am to infiltrate this organisation are all dead.

_'You are Jayce and you won't die. We will protect you. Remember that.'_

They all met a grisly end.

_'We will make sure you won't.'_

They had sacrificed everything and failed. Their sacrifices are now mine to bear, as much as I hate it. I'm the only one left who could pick up where they had left off. I don't want such a responsibility and I don't want such a burden on my shoulders, but I have no choice.

I am the only one left. The only one who is the closest in figuring out the identity of the leader of Team Rocket.

_'You are. And you can do this. Don't spit on Jane's sacrifice. Hang in there. You are so close.'_

I really want to pull out of this, but even if I tried to convince the President to let me retire from this dangerous operation they would definitely deny me of my request. He had invested too much into this. He wants results. Who cares if a nameless operative got himself killed? Who cares about his mental health? If he pulled through and brought the desired result, just give him a pat on the back and congratulate him on a job well-done. If he failed, then it is no skin off anyone's back. The only thing lost is a nameless orphan without an identity.

_'Humans are such hideous creatures. Other than you and Jane, of course. We miss her. We all miss her.'_

Ultimately, both the Government and Team Rocket are the same. They will squeeze and milk every usefulness out of you until you have nothing left to offer. Until then, they will let you live within the palm of their hand. And once you had reached the end of your useful life…

You _will_ be discarded.

That is the fate that awaits me no matter if I fail or succeed in this decade long operation. I would know. Striker of Marowak Skull was disposed the moment I proved that I am worth more than he did in our battle.

_'You are indispensable, Master Jayce.'_

In the end, I am just a tool. A nameless tool which is used to help let the millions of Kanto's and Johto's citizens enjoy the hard-earned peace that they took for granted as they lived their lives, not knowing the price that we operatives had paid on their behalf. Our group doesn't exist, at least not in name and not on paper, so no one will know. Our commanders from the Government called us the unsung heroes, a notion that all my now-dead colleagues believed in and used as their drive to continue their mission before they met their end.

What a bold-faced lie. Heroes?

_Hah_

My only comfort lies in the fact that I am not truly alone. I still have comrades that I can trust. My pokemon are here with me, pokemon that I had gotten during my time as a member of Team Rocket. Most of our past are not pretty, but we stick together. They kept me sane at my lowest point of my life and I try my best to ensure they live a normal life as much as possible.

_'We are your friends, just like you are ours. We protect each other.'_

"Elite Officer Plague, Executive Petrel is calling for you."

_'Our conversation has to end here, Master Jayce. Remember, you are Jayce. You are the Indigo Government's Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar. You are Elite Officer Plague of Team Rocket. Your wish is to destroy Team Rocket so that you can avenge Jane. Your wish is to see Giovanni go down to honour everyone's sacrifice. Your wish is to get out of here and spend your remaining days undisturbed. Above all, you are our friend and trainer. We protect our own.'_

I grunted an acknowledgement at the words conveyed to me by a Rocket Grunt who had knocked on the door of my assigned room in the hideout in the wee hours of the morning. My ninetales got up from her position on the floor and walked beside me. Exeggutor followed suit.

Ninetales is the first pokemon I had gotten when I had stolen her as an egg with nothing but the clothes on my back. I can still remember that day, it was my first mission as a member of Team Rocket. The Rockets were so impressed that an eight-year-old boy is able to achieve something that not many of the adult members can that they allowed me to keep the egg, which hatched into a vulpix about three days later. I would later learn that the egg I had stolen was one that was about to hatch, explaining why it only took my starter three days to announce her arrival into this world.

I had wanted to give her a nickname and so did Jane, but the one rule in Team Rocket that all members follow is that pokemon don't need names. They are merely tools for us to use and exploit. It is said in our organisation's motto: _"Steal Pokémon for profit. Exploit Pokémon for profit. All Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket_."

This is the same reason why the Government didn't give me a name when they picked me up and trained me to be a spy. Why give name to tools? I am but a mere number in their ranks. Easily replaceable.

Only she gave me a name, but she is gone now and so did my name.

No matter how much they try to portray themselves as the personification of all that is righteous, the Indigo Government can be even worse than Team Rocket in some ways. The hypocrisy of what they really do behind the scenes and what they show themselves to the public is such a huge contrast that I would have a good morbid laugh if it wasn't for the fact that I am on the receiving end of such a treatment.

I knocked on the office door of Executive Petrel, who called for me to enter.

"Well, well, if it isn't my favourite officer."

Petrel spoke in that laidback tone of his as he propped his legs up on his desk, with his fingers on both hands interlocking with each other.

"Executive Petrel." I greeted in my usual monotone and the blank look that I had long since mastered during my time here. "For what purpose do you call me for?"

"Down to business immediately, as always. This is what I like about you." Petrel gave an amused huff before he reached for a file and threw it over to me, which I caught with a single hand. "This is your newest mission. All the details are in there, pick whoever you need from our division. We need this to be done before the week is over."

I quickly browsed through the file. It seems to be a doable mission. The magnitude of the impact of this mission on Indigo isn't too big, so there isn't a need to warn the Government of it. I cannot leak the details of every single mission I am being sent on as a member of Team Rocket to the Government if I want my cover to remain as it is. I have to use my own judgement to secretly inform the Government on what missions I should leak to them, and what I shouldn't. If we want Team Rocket to be gone for good, we need to uproot the entire organisation in one decisive blow so that they would not have any time to react. We need to destroy their countless bases littered across Kanto and Johto in one fell swoop. Until the League or the Government has enough firepower or amass enough vital information about Team Rocket, keeping my identity as a spy a secret is of the utmost priority unless Team Rocket is planning something so huge, I have to warn the Government about it at the risk of revealing myself.

Thanks to the need to keep my cover, there are some missions of Team Rocket that the Government has to turn a blind eye to. We cannot afford Team Rocket to raise any suspicions about me. Now, as a spy whose top priority is to keep my cover and gather more information about Team Rocket, I basically have the power to indirectly decide which innocents will lose their lives and their pokemon companions in Team Rocket's numerous heists. it is something that will inevitably happen if I want to continue spying on Team Rocket from where I am.

All in the name of the greater good.

"It will be done." I said the same four words that I had repeated countless times in the past decade. The four words that sealed the fate of whatever human or pokemon that might meet their end by my hands during the mission I will be going on. Some of the pokemon we captured might be experimented on, some of them might be sold on the black market, some of them might be forcefully broken and turned into tools for us to use. This is not even the full list of what Team Rocket does.

No matter what I do, there will be pokemon that will be taken away from their homes soon. No matter what I do, there will be people who will die by my actions, directly or indirectly. No matter how I tried to ease my guilt, it will never go away.

_It's all for the greater good_.

I really want to believe in what they preached, but do the higher-ups under the direct command of the President in the Indigo Government see the same things I do? Do they feel the same guilt I felt when I personally sent these innocent pokemon to their undeserved fate? Had they lost the same things I did? Does the realisation of what I really did to both pokemon and trainers alike sink into them as it did on me?

No, they don't.

They don't experience the same thing as I do. Hence, they will never understand. They will never understand how hard it truly is to do these heinous crimes in the name of peace. No matter how they try to justify their decision in forcing me to remain as their spy, I will never get to see things the way they want me to see.

We lead completely different lives. Those that bask in the light will never understand how hard it is to constantly live in the darkness.

I walked back to my office as I start to plan for the latest mission I had just been assigned to. If I want myself to remain useful to both the Indigo Government and Team Rocket, then this mission will have to be a success.

For the greater good, it will be done.

For Jane, it will be done.

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Elite Officer Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Elite Officer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**


	4. Chapter 3- Life Choices

"They are ours now."

The captain of the ship tried to resist, but a firm stomp of my feet to his hand got him to yell in pain. Around me, my men are busy working moving the batch of cargo from this ship to our own one. There are many exotic and rare pokemon from other regions that are kept in their pokeballs within the crates we are moving.

They belong to Team Rocket now.

"Now that we have the time." I spoke lazily as I drew my dagger from its holster and did a lazy twirl of it with my fingers. "Who was the one that gave you the bright idea to betray us? Hm?"

The captain of the ship zipped his mouth shut, but I have ways to make him spill all his dirty secrets no matter what he did. I always do. They always spill, eventually. It is just a matter of finding their weakness, their Achilles' heel.

There was a fall of the blade and a splash of blood.

"Oopsie. One finger gone."

The captain continues to scream as the little pinky on his right hand is now gone, dropped on the floor like trash. I leaned my face closer to the man's.

"We were supposed to be _trading **partners**_." I stressed. "And the last thing that partners should do is to betray each other. Team Rocket doesn't tolerate traitors."

_"Hi! My name's Jane! Operative 2043 Code name: Pikachu, at your service! It's nice to meet you, **partner**! What's your name?"_

Putting away the memory of me slitting Jane's throat with the same dagger in the furthest part of my mind, I flicked my dagger and stabbed it in the centre of the man's palm. He continue to scream in pain.

"So, **_spill_**. Or your daughter is next. Blue Apricot Elementary School is not that far from here."

The captain visibly panicked.

"You-!"

I sliced off another finger. I really don't have the patience for this. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.

**_"Spill."_**

"T-The cops." The captain finally blurted out as he tried to endure the pain, his voice now a pained whimper. "T-They promised me a reward if I managed to get ahold of the true identities of your execs or if I managed to intercept your cargo and deliver it to them instead so that they can do their investigations. T-That's all I know, I swear!"

_'He seems to be telling the truth.'_

Mentally thanking my exeggutor, I released the captain's hands from the bottom of my boots.

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" I stated without a care in the world as I picked up a nearby cloth to wipe my dagger clean. "We should have done this all along as partners, telling each other the truth."

"P-Please let my daughter go!" The captain got onto his knees and started to beg, ignoring his bleeding and de-fingered hand. "S-She's only eight! She doesn't know-"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have signed yourself up for this career in the first place."

A purplish paw flew out from my shadows and punched through the captain's chest in one blow. Ninetales thoughtfully erected a shield of Reflect that prevented the blood from spraying all over me. Gengar slowly made her appearance known as she left my shadow, her mouth opening wider and wider until she swallowed the dead man whole.

He really made the wrong career choice.

"Sir, everything is accounted for and loaded up on our ship." One of the grunts reported to me with a salute. "Our next orders?"

I gave the grunt a disinterested look.

"Like we planned. Make this look like an accident. I don't have to teach you how to do that, do I?"

I hopped on to our boat and watched as the grunts did all the work with practiced ease while I personally went through the list in the meanwhile, doing some random checks on the physical cargo to ensure that everything is as it should be. You cannot fully trust the grunts here, not in a place like Team Rocket.

"Sir, the preparations are complete."

"Then light it up and we can all go home."

Our boat sped away as the ship we had just ransacked burst into flames, and we all watch as it slowly sunk into the bottom of the vast sea.

No evidence left behind. The cops can suspect us for all they like, but they will never get the proof they want.

_"P-Please let my daughter go! S-She's only eight! She doesn't know-"_

I closed my eyes and said a prayer in my mind. He's lucky that I am the one doing the exterminating today and there was no one else around us to listen in when I was doing the interrogation. At least, the little girl would live. If it were up to somebody else, his entire family would have mysteriously died in an 'accident'.

If only he didn't make the wrong career choice, a little girl wouldn't have to lose her father today.

* * *

To prevent anyone from tracking us down, the cargo was moved through several ships at certain points before docking itself at the port in Vermillion. By then, everything and everyone had became clean and legal, and we are now masquerading as employees of a certain shipping company that is in actuality a front for Team Rocket to do their shady business in exporting and importing pokemon.

Everyone had changed out of the Rocket uniform and hid it away before the port's security did their routine check on the ship. Once they were satisfied, we were given the green light and they left. Another Rocket member in charge of this area, also disguised, took the job over from me and I went about my way, now dressed in casual clothes and walking without a care in the world on the streets in broad daylight, my ninetales beside me.

Contrary to popular belief, Rockets don't wear their uniforms in public wherever they go. In fact, we don't often do that. We are not stupid. Many of us are hidden in plain sight, blending in just like your regular joe. We could be your next door neighbour, the florist a street away from your house. We could even be your childrens' homeroom teacher or the nurse in the pokemon center tending to your sick and injured pokemon.

Team Rocket is everywhere in the Indigo. Nowhere is safe.

And **_this_**, is the organisation that I am tasked to take down all by myself. Fucking crazy. The President must have lost his mind when he sent me on this impossible mission.

I took a stroll along Route 11, enjoying the sights and declining any challenges trainers on the route made at me the moment they spotted ninetales. I'm not in the mood today. I had finally earned myself a day off and I want to just relax and think.

Just how on earth am I going to take down Team Rocket? Assuming that I had gotten indisputable proof that Giovanni is the true leader behind this organisation, what next? Reporting it back to the Indigo Government isn't the be-all and end-all solution. Action needs to be taken immediately and knowing the bastard that is the Indigo President, he would probably miss the golden opportunity when it arises.

From the moment I got the indisputable proof that I need, I will need to act on my own if I ever want to get out of Team Rocket. I am almost certain that the Indigo Government will find ways to get rid of me once my purpose is fulfilled. I would know, I had been given the job to get rid of discarded tools too many times to know the direction where the story of my life is going to head next. I could be a script writer by now since this particular plot is so commonly used.

No one wants to risk anyone tattling all their dirty little secrets simply because they failed to tie up loose ends. Being nice and sentimental gets you nowhere in this dark world. The logical option will be to silence the one that knows all your secrets when their purpose has been fulfilled because there is no more benefit in keeping them around anymore.

So, who? If the Indigo Government cannot be trusted because it is where the President has the greatest influence, then who? The Indigo League? I never had the chance to interact with anyone high up in the League on a personal level. I don't know who I can trust and _Giovanni _is part of the League himself. One wrong move and I'm done for.

I sat on the edge of the Silence Bridge on Route 12, enjoying the sea breeze like what many of the fishermen in the location is doing. Families are having picnics nearby as they fish, enjoying their interaction with mother nature. If there's one good thing about this world, it's that the people here places a lot of importance in protecting the environment. The air here is always fresh. The waters are always clean.

Takes my mind away from all the gloom and doom, even if it is just for a short moment.

"Jane would love this place." I murmured as I stroked ninetales on her head, who is now resting her head on my lap and had closed her eyes to take a quick nap. She let out a soft purr from her throat. I can feel gengar shifting in my shadows at my words.

There is a soft pitter-patter of small feet to my left. I turned my head slightly and saw a little girl looking at ninetales with awe and curiosity in her eyes.

"Gwen!" A woman, presumably the girl's mother, quickly ran up and held her child back when she tried to reach out a hand to touch ninetales. She sent me a brief apologetic look before berating her daughter. "You cannot just touch other people's pokemon without permission!"

"But mummy!" The little girl looked back up at her mother and pointed a finger at my ninetales, as if that action explained everything. "It's a _ninetales_! I've never seen a real one before!"

"Grabbing a tail of a ninetales will curse you." I spoke with a hint of amusement lining my voice. Is this what I am protecting at the cost of my life and sanity? This childish innocence? Is this what Jane had given her life up for?

The little girl did a gasp and covered her mouth with her hands.

"What? Really? How?"

"I dunno, even this lady here never let me touch her tails directly when I'm her trainer, but I'm allowed to groom the fur on it with a comb. Maybe you should ask a pokemon researcher? How about Professor Oak?"

"Oh, I know him! He always teaches fun pokemon stuff on the radio every Friday! I can ask him this Friday during the Q&A session! He always knows how to answer questions on pokemon!" The girl bounced up and down happily on her feet. "Hey mister! Are you here for a picnic too like mummy and I? Or are you here to fish like daddy always do? He's working right now, but he told me he will bring me to go fishing when he comes back!"

I gave a thoughtful hum.

"I'm just here to look at the sea and think about my life choices."

"Think about life choices?"

_More like the lack thereof._

"Adult stuff. You will know when you grow older. Don't ever grow up if you don't want to be in my shoes. Stay young forever."

"I want to be a pokemon trainer when I grow up!" The girl shared her dreams with me as she sat down beside me, leaving her legs suspended in the air and kicking it childishly as we watch the blue sea ahead of us. Her mother had gone to sit down under a nearby tree about twenty meters away once she saw that her child is not up to any mischief.

If there is one thing here that I find different, it is that parents in this world are more trusting towards strangers. Social interactions are highly encouraged, especially when it comes to the topic of pokemon. How that way of life came about eludes me and I never cared to find out why.

"Nice dream to have." I answered truthfully and I can feel gengar moving subtly in my shadows. Hopefully she doesn't burp her meal out from earlier and scare the girl. No one wants to see a half-digested corpse popping out from the shadows and I have no idea how to explain myself if that happens.

"What kind of trainer do you want to be?"

"Uh, I don't know?" The little girl tilted her head to a side. "But maybe a Water Specialist like Misty? She's so beautiful! And cool! And so strong too! She made water types look so pretty! I want to be like Misty!"

"Then you would need a water type if you want to be like her."

"Yup! But mummy say buying a pokemon can be really expensive and there are no trainers in our family, so I will have to wait until I am old enough to receive one from the League."

I look down at the waters below, which are clear enough to allow me to see about ten meters down until the visibility diminish. I saw a particular pokemon resting in the waters beneath our feet that I think might make a great companion for her.

"How about I catch one for you right now?"

The girl visibly perked up.

"Really?! Can you?!"

"I am a trainer. What do you think?" I huffed. I don't have a water type to fish it out, but that kind of handicap never stopped me before. "But you have to promise me to take really good care of it. Give it the love and attention it needs, okay? I'm not accepting any objections."

"Mm!"

Ninetales cracked open an eye and her eyes glowed a blue hue. Even without moving, a horsea underneath the bridge was forcefully ejected out from the sea and struggled in midair, hovering right in front of us thanks to ninetales' Extrasensory. A toss of a pokeball later, the water type was caught.

"Take good care of it now." I said as I passed the pokeball into the girl's hands and stood up. It's time to take my leave.

"I will! Thank you!" The girl beamed as she waved me goodbye, horsea's pokeball held close to her chest. Ninetales and I walked away towards the direction of Lavender Town with me still deep in thought.

_"P-Please let my daughter go!" _

"You can rest in peace now." I spoke in a volume that only I can hear as ninetales and I continue our stroll alone.

_"S-She's only eight! She doesn't know-"_

"Your daughter is doing fine. She doesn't know what you really do for a living."

_"Hey mister! Are you here for a picnic too? Or are you here to fish like daddy always do? He's working right now, but he told me he will bring me to go fishing when he comes back!"_

"Bringing her to go fishing when you are back? You really made the wrong career choice. You are not coming back, but at least with a pokemon companion by her side, she won't be truly alone. Who knows? Maybe she will grow strong enough to defeat me someday and bring me to justice."

I had done a lot of evil in the name of the greater good against my will, but today, even if it is something small, at least I'm able to do some good this time on my own volition.

And that is all it takes to make my day.

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Elite Officer Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Elite Officer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**


	5. Chapter 4- Infiltration

It's funny watching how the instructors in Team Rocket train the new recruits, because everyone was once a recruit. You cannot help but compare what they are going through with what you went through.

So, I decide that watching this will be my highlight of the day from where I am on the second floor of the building, leaning on the railings with ninetales and houndoom by my side.

"Stand up! Rockets don't fall! They don't die! They never surrender!"

Funny. I had seen many Rockets flee at the first sign of danger. Nobody really took this part of the lesson to heart. It's always about every man for himself.

_"Hang in there, Jayce. We are nearly there. Once we complete this we will be full-fledged Rockets! We will be one step closer to our objective!"_

Once upon a time, I had someone who stuck by me in this hellhole through thick and thin. It was how I managed to pull through with my mind still sane.

Many of the so-called recruits below are still impressionable kids. Children that still have that innocent smiles on their faces. They wouldn't have them for long. It's the instructors' job to train them into perfect ruthless soldiers that will kill without hesitation upon receiving instruction from their superiors.

How did Team Rocket get their hands on so many children?

Why, the slums, of course. When you are at the lowest point in your life and had nowhere to go, isn't it human nature to pledge your loyalty to the one who gave you a helping hand out of gratitude? Revere the saviour who pulled you out of that hopeless pit? That's how Team Rocket operates, by giving kindness to people who had nothing to lose and in return, these people will risk their life and limbs to do anything they were asked to do.

I saw one of the child recruits helping another to stand. While such an act is admirable, it isn't in Team Rocket. The organisation doesn't need anyone who cannot pull their own weight. Team Rocket is a place where only the strongest and smartest survive. There's no place for the weak and kind-hearted, not here in the largest terrorist organisation in the world.

Very often, the kindest always dies first, because they put the lives of others above their own. They naively put the lives of selfish people, people that has no notion of conscience in their hearts, above their own. That's how they die, death by kindness.

I had emphasised many times to the President that for Team Rocket to be gone for good, something must be done for those trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty. The Government cannot continue to turn a blind eye towards this issue, because Team Rockets fester in the cracks of society where not enough effort had been put into to mend it. I'm willing to bet that's how other infamous terrorist organisations around the world operates too, even if I had only briefly met one or two myself when we did our rare international business dealings. We tend to stick to our own respective regions because the seas in this world is so dangerous to navigate it is not even remotely funny.

I wonder how many ships had sank like Titanic ever since the respective regions that made up the Pokemon World League opened up their borders? Probably too many to count.

I continue to watch the training below from where I am. My mind is wandering elsewhere, wandering to the past where I wasn't alone in this hellhole, where she is still around to brighten up my dark life.

She wanted to be a singer and start a band with me, maybe roping a few more like minded people along the way. It sounds like a great way to live, in my opinion. Then again, any way of living is still better than living the life of a terrorist.

Her dream would forever remain unfulfilled, because she was too kind. She was never suited for this life.

Her death made me think of things that I never thought before once my head was cleared. Over the years, I am getting more and more certain that the brief moment of hesitation that I had, that something that made me stood rooted to the floor instead of running to help her escape, consequences be damned, when she was first caught and dragged across the floor, is definitely not natural. It's like there's a block interfering with my mind and I'm going to find out what that is.

But not here. I need to first ensure that I'm alone and unwatched before I run my own tests to verify my suspicions. I cannot trust anyone. Not the special agents and the secret operatives from the Government, and definitely not anyone from Team Rocket no matter how nice and genuine they appear to be.

After all, I'm supposed to exterminate them. That's my only purpose for being here. I have no true allies and all that surrounds me are my enemies.

My only true allies are not even humans. They are my pokemon.

"My, my, I thought that no one would be here in this boring place."

Someone's voice snapped me back to reality. I looked back up to see Executive Ariana in front of me, hips cocked to a side and a hand on it with that usual cocky smirk on her face.

"Executive Ariana." I greeted back in a salute since she is of a higher rank than me. My rank of Elite Officer is just a rank below those of an Executive. I had met all of the Executives ever since my promotion to Elite Officer.

Never liked any of them.

"Plague, right? At ease, Elite Officer Plague. I'm just passing by." She waved it off casually with a hand and I relaxed my posture. Ariana is the Executive that the true leader of Team Rocket is the closest to, or at least that's what the rumour mills say.

Ariana joined me as she too watched the happenings below, with me standing behind her like a subordinate should in the presence of their superiors.

"Petrel was impressed at how you completed the latest mission. He had good things to say about you."

"I'm just doing my job, ma'am." I replied with an even tone that gave nothing away.

"And he also told me this would be your default response to any praise sent your way. I see that he's right."

Ariana turned back to face me, her hands crossed across her chest.

"The files said that you are good at infiltration. Is that true?"

"I'm only moderately good at it. The last time I did an infiltration mission was years ago to topple Marowak Skull, ma'am."

"Ah, I knew your name sounded familiar." Ariana's eyes twinkled a little mischievously. "And how humble of you. Give yourself some credit. You are the reason why we are now the greatest organisation of Kanto's underworld. You are the Rocket who managed to do what we couldn't. The exterminator that culled all who stands in our way and remove all traitors. A disease that toppled our enemies, like a plague."

I stood there in silence, not really knowing what to say to that.

"I'm going to have to borrow you from Petrel for a ahort while. I need someone of your skills and experience for a certain scouting mission. You are not on any active missions right now, are you?"

"No, ma'am."

"Good." Ariana turned to make her leave, her heels clicking audibly against the floor along the quiet corridor. "I'm going to speak to Petrel for a bit, then I will meet you in my office."

I gave her my salute when she made her exit, only relaxing when she left.

_I'm just passing by, _my ass. I knew she was not the type to appear before someone without any good reason.

I turned around and walked in the opposite way that she left. I will need to soon decide if this mission Ariana is sending me on is worth informing the Government about. Every single interaction I have with them holds a risk that I might be discovered, so it is not a decision I make lightly.

Hopefully, nobody needs to die this time round.

* * *

This mission is interesting, at the very least.

Someone in Team Rocket had gotten wind that the Government had a secret facility somewhere conducting pokemon research. What they are researching about eludes us, which is why I was sent to find out. Anything that is being hidden there, Ariana wants to know every single detail about it.

Team Rocket is crazily rich. The organisation has many false companies and fronts that they use to appear in public squeaky clean, in which money laundering can safely take place and wash the blood off the illegally made profit before they reappear back in public again. Using that kind of connections, Team Rocket managed to forge a new identity for me and somehow helped me to gain access to the facility as one of the workers there.

As a janitor.

Unlike what one usually sees in the movies, infiltration missions are often not as glamorous as one would imagine it to be.

It would be suspicious if a janitor possesses many rare and powerful pokemon, so I only brought gengar with me. Even then, she hides in my shadows, not making an appearance unless my life is at stake. There are areas that I am not allowed to enter as a janitor, but I always find my way in somehow.

I had already been here for two weeks. During this time, I had already memorised the layout of the entire place and sneaked into the prohibited areas a few times undetected. What I found out was interesting, but nothing that personally _really _interests me.

Apparently, the Indigo League had recently found a group of prehistoric pokemon living in some remote corner of the region, untouched by time and civilization. Any prehistoric pokemon that are currently roaming about are those who had been brought back to life through fossils. Finding one that is naturally born and raised in the wild is supposed to be non-existent, much less a colony of them.

No wonder everything is hush-hush.

I don't know how important the Government or the League values this research. I will have to find a time to check in with the President by contacting the few special agents on his side that knows of my existence. Ariana has been getting impatient, so I cannot dawdle for too long lest she gets suspicious.

Prehistoric pokemon can be trained to be insanely powerful, but they also fetch a very high price as fossils and even higher as a live specimen. I cannot help but wonder what Team Rocket plans to do with these _naturally occurring_ prehistoric pokemon if they ever get their hands on them. Just imagine how high they can sell for in the black market. Would Team Rocket choose to make a quick buck by selling them in underground auctions? Maybe rope them into their pokemon army?

Thankfully, this facility is a League sponsored one, which means that I have full access to whatever is in here. It is a perk that comes with being a secret operative for the Government. I am given my own code that can secretly override any and all computers that belongs to the Government or the League, allowing me to contact them easily.

Getting the best of both worlds is probably the only great perk of being a double agent. Other than that? It sucks big time.

The secrecy of the facility meant that most of the staff live in the facility themselves to reduce the chance of information leakage. Thus, when night fell and everyone had fallen asleep. I got out of bed and secretly snuck my way into the control room with gengar's help without raising the alarms.

Knocking out the person keeping watch in the control room was easy with Hypnosis. Hypnosis is a very underrated move for covert operations. An amateur uses it to put their foes to sleep, an expert in the move can use it to control people, read minds, alter memories, or even plant subtle mental suggestions that no one can ever detect.

I'm starting to suspect that someone had placed a mental suggestion within my own mind somehow without me realising it. It's the only possible explanation I had on why I didn't run towards Jane to rescue her when I could, and should. I clearly remembered that all I wanted to do was to get her out of there, but suddenly I couldn't move and I couldn't think, like my brain had forcefully shut down at the mere thought of it and my body just froze.

And if someone had really did that to me like I had suspected, there will be **_hell _**to pay.

After ensuring that I am wearing gloves so that my fingerprints would not be left behind, I keyed in the code that override all protocols in the control room. With this, the entire control room is now mine to use and control. All conversations and communications are secured, out of reach of the Rockets. Doing a video call is the stupidest thing one can do on a covert mission no matter the security employed, so I quickly typed in my question and hopefully the President is still awake to see it.

**[Gengar]: TR target: Facility, naturally occurring prehistoric pokemon. Allow or interfere? Please advise.**

_Come on, don't keep me waiting too long. An extra second here is an extra element of risk for me._

There is a blink of the screen that signifies the quick reply to my message.

**[Arceus]: Allow. Research value is not as much as it seems, but do leave the researchers alive if possible.**

Yeah, the President calls himself _Arceus _of all pokemon names to use. He really has a god complex, easily seen from the way he does things.

Bastard.

**[Gengar]: Roger. Gengar out.**

I have my instructions. The President himself just doomed this facility and the people here. I have no idea who will be sent here to wipe this place clean. Hopefully the staff here will be alive when Team Rocket is done with it.

After logging out and turning the screens in the control room back to normal, I put the man back in his chair and exited the room, leaving no clues behind. He will come back to his senses when the sound of the door clicking shut entered his ears, breaking him out of the trance like what gengar had programmed it to be. He will have no recollection of what went on the moment he was caught in Hypnosis since his memories and perception of time had been altered through it.

Doing such things got a little easier with time when I got used to it, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth.

I really hate this job.

* * *

"Splendid work, Plague. This information is really what we needed. Leader will be pleased at knowing this."

I saluted back at Ariana at the praise given to me before going back to standing at attention. It took me awhile to legally quit my job as a janitor at the facility without raising any suspicions, but I managed it in the end. A few subtle Hypnosis here and there on the right people did the trick.

Ariana opened up a drawer and took out two pokeballs.

"I am pleased at your work, and I believe I can say the same for my fellow Executives if they learnt what you had just accomplished. Team Rocket rewards those who had worked hard for our cause. These are yours now, Elite Officer."

I took the two pokeballs presented to me. I have no idea what these pokemon are, but I will find out later.

"You are dismissed for now. I will call for you again when your help is needed once more." Ariana waved me away with a hand before ending the conversation in a sultry voice.

"For the glory of Team Rocket."

I repeated the phrase spoken out of habit.

"For the glory of Team Rocket."

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Elite Officer Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Elite Officer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**


	6. Chapter 5- Raid

In the end, Ariana decided to "reward" me by giving me the honour to be the one in charge of taking down the facility. Our mission is to steal all the prehistoric pokemon in here and get their research data. Anything not of use to us is to be destroyed. Standard Team Rocket protocol.

_"Elite Officer Plague, we are in position."_

I gave a nod at the words my subordinate spoke and took a look at the watch on my wrist. Anytime now.

"Remember the plan. Go through it in your head one more time. We have one minute left until our mission commence."

"Yes sir!"

I let out my drapion from her pokeball, who stood by my side as she impatiently stamped one of her feet on the ground and clicked her pincers menacingly, eager for a deathmatch.

"Easy there, girl." I spoke softly to her and placed a hand on her body to calm her down. "Soon."

Drapion let out a soft snort, but the excited swaying of her tail signalled to me that she is hungry for battle. Drapion's constant lust for battles is something that I had never managed to fully curb. The effects of the brutal experiments done on her made her turned out this way.

Seeing that the agreed time is approaching, I raised my left hand in the air and suspended it there. The Rockets under my lead for this mission all visibly tensed and prepared themselves for what is about to come.

I chopped my hand down.

"Go."

Drapion gave a loud savage bellow before charging straight in, breaking through all obstacles in her way. The rest of my men followed after drapion as I remained behind and let out ninetales, gengar and exeggutor.

"Take us in."

A Teleport from exeggutor brought the four of us into the middle of the building, surprising the occupants.

"Hypnosis."

With that, everyone in our vicinity got themselves knocked out from that psychic move with this particular moment erased from their memories. This is the best I can do without resorting to hurting or killing innocents while doing my missions as a member of Team Rocket.

Whatever happens to them from now on till the end of my mission depends on their fate and luck. I can only say that I tried my best to let them live.

The sounds of battle can be heard outside where my men and my drapion are fighting against the security stationed to guard this research facility. Since their attention is focused on the outside, it lets me have free reign to do whatever I want in this short amount of time in the building. I had already mapped the entire place during the short period of time that I infiltrated in here as a janitor. I knew where to go and what to look for without wasting any time. The people I knocked out aren't even trainers, merely defenceless scientists and researchers because all the combatants had been drawn to the battle outside. This will be an easy mission.

I reached for a computer and plugged in a flash drive given to me by the scientists working for Team Rocket. The virus in it immediately override the security measures installed into the computer, allowing me to have access to the otherwise confidential files. A few clicks of the mouse later, I found what I needed and transferred the data into my flash drive. Anything that Team Rocket doesn't need, I wiped it out as per protocol.

One more thing left to do.

I strolled over to the prohibited area where I know these researchers kept the pokemon that they are studying, ignoring the 'KEEP OUT' sign and the blaring of alarms.

"Gengar, break down the wall."

A Shadow Ball from my gengar blasted a wall open. From the hole in the wall, I saw what I am supposed to acquire for this mission.

Prehistoric pokemon, but not just _any_ prehistoric pokemon. These pokemon here aren't the ones that are revived from fossils. These are prehistoric pokemon are descendents of those that had somehow survived extinction in some remote part of the world before these researchers got their hands on them.

It doesn't belong to them now.

An enraged aerodactyl flew at us, aiming to take us down with its snapping jaws. Gengar simply fired a massive Thunderbolt at it, taking it out. Swarms of kabuto and kabutops poured out as well, but a huge flare of Solar Beam from my ninetales that swept through the entire area is all it needs to put them down. The omanytes and omastars were too afraid of us after that, choosing to remain in their corner instead. I could even spot a few other species of prehistoric pokemon native to other regions.

"Exeggutor, Hypnosis."

Placing whatever remaining pokemon that is still conscious into a deep slumber, I took out the specially made pokeballs designed by the scientists of Team Rocket from the large sack I slung on my back. I threw them towards the group of prehistoric pokemon and with exeggutor's psychic powers guiding the contraptions to their targets, the pokeballs sucked our catch in.

Forty-two prehistoric pokemon acquired.

Another application of exeggutor's psychic abilities got these pokeballs flying back into my sack before I secured it over my back again. I see a lone aerodactyl in another nearby enclosure. All I have to do is to capture it and it will be time to pull out of here.

"Rainer." I spoke to the smartwatch on my wrist, which doubles up as a communication device for us Rockets to communicate in our missions as I am about to break down the aerodactyl's enclosure. "Mission is over, pull out of here."

_"Sir, I just received word from Executive Petrel that the mission on Dust's end had failed. Petrel is asking for us to clean it up for him before reinforcements from the League arrived because our location is the closest to where Dust is conducting his operation."_

I dragged a tired palm across my face. If I recall my facts right, Dust's mission was a simple mission. **_One _**simple mission to assassinate a rogue scientist that had betrayed Team Rocket and is now making his escape into another region. How hard can that be?

"Run me through the details."

_"Sir, Dust had used a large group of pokemon and used them to attack the ship the target was on, disguising it as a wild pokemon attack to make it appear as if the target died from an accident. However, he did not fully block the electrical signals in the area in time and someone on the ship managed to send a message back to the Rangers for reinforcements."_

**_Dust did WHAT?! _**

Using a large group of pokemon to attack the ship the target is on just to kill **_one _**target that wasn't even of much importance to Team Rocket? The risk of the method employed doesn't justify the reward should it fail. Team Rocket might be even more exposed due to his stupidity.

I'm certain that Dust just wants to show off what he is capable of by doing something flamboyant, like getting a needlessly large group of pokemon to do the job for him by attacking _an entire ship_ of people. There are so many uncertain elements in there that it is obvious at first glance that this plan isn't going to work. Simply stabbing the scientist with a dagger would have been so much easier and quieter.

He's an idiot.

Logically, I shouldn't complain about Dust's blunder, since taking down Team Rocket is what I had been aiming for. However, whatever this idiot is doing might or might not spoil all the plans and hard work I had put in over the years to bring Team Rocket to justice. The last thing I need is for Team Rocket to hide further underground from this blunder and making it more difficult for me to work my way up. Working my way up is the best bet I have in eventually obtaining proof of the secret identity of the true leader of Team Rocket, which I am sure is Giovanni.

I know for a fact that the Executives are granted the knowledge of who the true leader behind our organisation is. That position is what I had been aiming for ever since Jane died. Everything I have done since then is for this very reason.

My eyes went back to the aerodactyl held in a separate enclosure, which is now flapping its wings and screeching loudly with its fangs and claws bared after seeing what I had done to its brethren. I don't know what made this aerodactyl so special that it is separated from the other prehistoric pokemon, but I don't care.

I tapped my feet on the floor in an irregular rhythm as I weighed my options.

Maybe it's because I was inspired by the method Dust had chosen to complete his mission, but this is the only method I can think on the top of my head right now that doesn't implicate Team Rocket further, not ruin all my hard work over the years, and hopefully buy some time for the innocents on the ship to make a safe escape. I really need to do my best and earn the trust of the upper echelons to fulfil my mission in toppling Team Rocket but I also don't want too many innocents to die in my quest for revenge.

What a difficult situation.

"Rainer, give me the coordinates of the ship. Tell Petrel that I am going to hypnotise one of the aerodactyls here in the facility and send it to clean up the mess. This shouldn't leave any traces behind that could link the attack back to us because the aerodactyl is supposedly a wild pokemon. Hopefully, the aerodactyl will reach the ship before any League trainer does."

_"Affirmative, sir."_

Exeggutor's eyes glowed blue once more and drapion was teleported back to our side. I recalled the rest of my team except for exeggutor, who knows what she has to do next.

"Do it."

The aerodactyl stopped struggling and the pupils of its eyes dilated as a mental suggestion was planted into its mind. However, I made exeggutor implant a little twist in there. Not only would the aerodactyl not reach the ship in time because it will be flying in circles for awhile in an unseen corner of the region, but it will only _look _as if it is going after the rogue scientist. I'm counting on the League reinforcements to reach the ship just right before the aerodactyl for this to work. If not, everyone aboard the ship is going to die.

_Upon reaching the ship, go after the biggest threat you see._

The mental suggestion implanted into aerodactyl's mind is a vague one, but it should be enough for the aerodactyl to focus on the strongest trainer or threat there, allowing enough time for the ship's occupants to be rescued. This is the best I can do to not implicate too many innocent lives while still maintaining my cover in Team Rocket.

One aerodactyl out of the many we just nabbed won't be missed by the organisation. If the rogue scientist lived to tell the tale, I can always say that I am not adequately prepared and that it is hard to remotely control a hypnotised pokemon over such long distances. Furthermore, Dust screwed up in the first place by making such a big commotion just to dispose of one single idiot. Everything is going to be on him.

I took another look around the facility after I released the brainwashed aerodactyl, who flew into the air and disappeared from view. It shouldn't be able to get rid of the mental suggestion exeggutor input into its brain unless a third party interfered. There should be nothing else here for us to do in this destroyed facility, so I gave exeggutor my next command.

"Let's go back."

It's time for us to report back to Petrel about the successful completion of our mission.

* * *

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"

Petrel exclaimed in delight as he plastered himself onto the glass wall separating us and the prehistoric pokemon that we had stolen. They are now placed in a specially made enclosure for the specific purpose of housing them.

"Look at them! Prehistoric pokemon that somehow avoided extinction! Their addition to Team Rocket can only be good for us!" Petrel rubbed his hands together in glee as he laughed out in joy.

"Good job, Plague! I know you can do this!" Petrel walked over and gave me a pat on the back where I am standing at attention. "You had been steadily proving yourself to be a valuable asset to Team Rocket!"

"I'm just doing my job, Sir." I gave my default reply.

"If only everyone had the same mindset as you." Petrel snorted. "Dust had unfortunately…_ bitten the dust _after his blunder. Your intervention might not have been timely enough in killing that traitor of a scientist, which is understandable considering the circumstances, but it helped in removing some of the traces that could have exposed several of our more important operations. Good job."

Petrel shuffled through the documents messily strewn about on a nearby desk before throwing a folder at me.

"This is your newly assigned location. You are now being transferred to the Celadon hideout for the time being. All the details you need to know are in there. You are dismissed."

I went back to the privacy of my own room and opened up the folder to read what was given to me.

I cannot help but let out a smile.

Celadon hideout, the main base of operations of Team Rocket, their HQ. The place where they first started out. There will be so much more dirt there for me to dig now that I finally have the chance to be posted there. I'm getting closer to achieving my goals.

It won't be long now. I can finally finish what Jane and I first started. The end doesn't seem so far away anymore.

They will fall, soon.

I won't accept any objections.

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Elite Officer Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Elite Officer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**


	7. Chapter 6- The Porygon Business

"Don't you have better things to do than to come and bother me?"

I lazily poked the tip of porygon's snout with a finger, pushing it back into the computer screen and watch it disappear into cyberspace. How humans managed to give a sentient A.I. a physical body that can emulate those of a snatural occurring pokemon is beyond me, but you have to give credit to human ingenuity when it is due. The porygon species really is one of the greatest inventions to ever grace this planet.

As per what I also remember from my past life, Team Rocket really has a hideout in Celadon that operates behind the facade of the infamous Game Corner. Even the location of the secret switch is the same, hidden behind an innocent looking poster.

The Game Corner rakes in a lot of money for our organisation simply by giving people a location to fully indulge in one of the most horrid vices known to man. To attract trainers to spend their entire life savings here, rare pokemon are often offered as prizes. The Game Corner do give out the rare dratinis from time to time, and when we have some in stock, porygons as well. The Game Corner is one of the few licensed distributors of porygons in the world, surprisingly enough.

Imagine that, a _gambling den_ somehow earning the license to distribute porygons. I really wonder how Team Rocket did that. Did corruption spread so deep within the Government that anything is now possible for Team Rocket?

That is also why I'm here at Celadon. I'm going to uncover every dirty secret Team Rocket is hiding.

I am given a personal office here in the Celadon hideout since I am an Elite Officer. This hideout is one of the most heavily protected hideouts owned by the organisation. The presence of porygons said it all. They are a unique species of pokemon in the sense that they are literal gods when they are in cyberspace. They can do whatever they want in a short amount of time and no one save for another porygon can stop them.

Maybe I should get myself a porygon and name him Ultron, just to see the world burn.

I have to be really careful of my actions here if I don't want to raise suspicions of the porygons Team Rocket uses to help run the daily operations of not only the Celadon hideout, but also the many others spread throughout the entire Indigo. I don't know the exact number of porygons Team Rocket uses to fortify their network here, but I have no doubt there will always be porygons watching our every move using the numerous security cameras scattered throughout the underground maze.

There is one porygon that kept coming to bother me whenever I am doing my work. I even double checked and found out that yes, it is always the same porygon. I don't know what I did to garner its attention, but it seemed to be a young one. That might explain its endless curiosity for anything that caught its attention.

Speaking of the devil, the porygon's snout poked through the screen of my computer again.

"Nope. Go back, you little nosy parker. I have work to do. Go play with someone else."

I used my finger to push the snout back into my screen. I had lost count on just how many times this porygon had visited me in the short four hours I was here sorting through and updating the list of Team Rocket's clients based on several factors. The factors can range from anything from their size, history, net worth, our past dealings, and so on and so forth.

The snout poked through again.

"If you are so free, then help me sort through the client list. Remove all clients that haven't been transacting with us for the past five years and put them on a separate list."

The list is _long_. I cannot stress this enough. I expected the porygon to take an hour or two at the very least, so that it might give it something to do and not bother me again for that blissful one hour. Guess what?

It finished the job in just a few seconds.

"Thank you." I said as I downloaded a copy on a flash drive. I'm not going to question my good luck since that porygon just saved me hours of work. Heck, I should have just dumped this job on it in the first place.

The porygon poked its snout through again and this time I patted it with a hand.

"And good job. Say, why do you keep visiting me anyway? Don't you have other things to do?"

There was a weird digital like sound that sounded through my computer's speakers, as if telling me that, _yes_, it really doesn't have _anything _to do.

If this porygon is going to be this helpful, then I am going to take full advantage of it. It seems to enjoy doing tasks thrown at it anyway. Serving others seems to be a core part of the program code that created the porygon species, if my sources were right. I will have to double check that fact later.

"Well, if you really are free and have nothing better to do, help me through a few things, okay?"

Maybe bringing Team Rocket down from within Celadon is not going to be as hard as I thought. Especially with an overly helpful and naive porygon running around.

* * *

Porygons are made, and only a few places on the planet that can legally manufacture them. Porygons don't come cheap due to how complex and costly the entire process is.

However, Team Rocket managed to somehow steal the secrets of manufacturing porygon. They have their own secret factory to produce this living A.I. It is how they can keep producing porygons regularly to attract trainers from all over the world to try their luck in getting one on their team. The porygons come out clean upon inspection, which I still have no clue how that was achieved since that area is not under my jurisdiction. I won't know until I snooped around some more. If I want to bring Team Rocket down, I will have to find out just how they did it.

But because Team Rocket can produce porygons on their own, their main base, Celadon hideout, is teeming with them. It is going to be a hassle to bypass all of them and I don't even know for sure how many there are. Not to mention, they are constantly watching everyone within the hideout. I cannot act as freely as I did in the other hideouts that I used to be posted at.

The opportunity came when I was given the job to do a routine check on the illegal porygon factory Team Rocket owned. It is a job that only high ranking members trusted by the Executives are allowed to embark on.

As I soon found out, the illegal factory is located at the edge of Saffron City, disguised as an ordinary IT company. The disguised members of Team Rocket working there immediately stood at attention the moment I entered. Many are obviously nervous at my presence.

The reason why I am called the Exterminator is because it is my job to get rid of any and all traitors and threats within and outside the organisation. You can say that my primary job within Team Rocket is like those of an internal auditor, only with all the killing and gore involved. I do go on other missions like infiltration, stealing, assassination, raids, etc etc, but my primary job had always been to get rid of any traitors that resides within Team Rocket and to eliminate outside threats that can pose a danger to the organisation.

It is a job given only to those that are trusted by the organisation without question. Not many had earned that throughout the organisation's history. Ever since I killed Jane with my own two hands, someone who many within the organisation knows was very close to me, I earned myself the title of Exterminator. My job is simple: Exterminate any and all people that goes against Team Rocket.

I am where I am now because of her sacrifice.

"Who's in charge?" I asked the moment I walked into a private room, ninetales and houndoom walking by my side. Ninetales is still her own aloof self, houndoom is busy glaring and snarling at anyone who looks his way, getting them to avert their gazes elsewhere.

"I am. Team Captain Edgar reporting for duty, Sir."

A green haired man who is a little on the short side took a few steps forward and saluted me. He led me to a secret book keeping room, where all the true financial statements and every single transaction, legal or otherwise, are being recorded.

"I hope I don't uncover anything that isn't supposed to be there, Team Captain." I spoke nonchalantly as I accessed the computer, already typing furiously on the keyboard to access the required files. "Or things that are supposed to be there, but aren't there."

"I checked everything myself, Sir." The Team Captain spoke confidently. "Every single one of us here serves the organisation with undying loyalty."

"Ah, I'm sorry. My words came out wrong, I'm afraid." I waved it off. "It's my job to be suspicious of people, you see. It's an unglamorous job and one that is not well-liked, but someone has to do it. I hope you understand."

"You are who people look up to, Sir. To protect the interests of the organisation even if it means killing your closest partner is not something everyone can do. No one had ever suspected Helen of being a traitor, but not only did you find out, you exposed her in front of everyone. Your loyalty to the organisation is admirable."

Outwardly, I didn't have any visible reaction. Inwardly, it is taking all of my willpower to not command houndoom to burn him to ashes this very instant. Helen was Jane's codename in Team Rocket.

Nobody speaks of her like this.

"That's why I am one of the few who are entrusted with this task." I spoke without missing a beat, subtly nudging houndoom with my foot for him to stay down and not give anything away. Thankfully, he got the memo.

Like the gengar currently residing in my shadows, houndoom's previous trainer was Jane.

Edgar excused himself after a short while to continue to do his job, leaving me to do my own auditing. I plugged in a flash drive into the computer.

"Nosy, you there?"

A familiar looking snout poked through the computer screen. I had asked Petrel if I could take along with me a porygon of my choosing to help me with this job, and he agreed because there is no reason to refuse and he trusts me enough. Obviously, I chose Nosy since fate had brought us together.

The one thing I found out is that the little nosy parker can be carried around in a flash drive, it seems. What a wonder.

I do need to differentiate this porygon from the other ones running around in Team Rocket's cyber network, so I gave him the nickname of Nosy since he is such a nosy parker. Nosy isn't mine, he's technically wild and probably programmed to serve Team Rocket. I will have to find some time to quietly look at his source code in detail to find out more about Nosy without raising questions. I am currently trying to see if it is possible to get Nosy on my side. If I could do it, it would mean a step closer for me in bringing Team Rocket down. Bringing Nosy with me is a risk that I am willing to take.

"Help me do an initial filter of the transaction records for the past year. Anything that stands out or you think is an anomaly with a variance of more than 20%, mark it out for me. I will be going through the physical books."

Many times, the dirty little secrets are always hidden on hardcopy. Nosy can handle all the digital documents while I go through the illegal books kept by the members working in this factory.

"And Nosy? Find me some background music."

A few seconds later, some rock n roll music of Nosy's choosing played in the room I'm in. I'm going to be stuck here for the next few days anyway. Might as well enjoy myself while I'm at it.

And, huh, who knew that porygons actually had good taste in music?

* * *

It's only after auditing the illegal factory did I finally know how Team Rocket's porygon business is really done.

When the porygon species was first created, Team Rocket had somehow stole the original source code without anyone knowing. This was how they first managed to mass produce porygons in the first place.

But how do they make sure that their porygons come out clean when they introduced them into the market? The pokemon given out as prizes in the Game Corner are subjected to random checks by Kanto's very own police force. That includes porygons.

The answer is actually laughably simple. Collaboration, or better known as corruption.

If anyone did a check on the porygons held at the Game Corner, the manufacturing code indicates that they are manufactured from Silph Co., one of the few approved manufacturers of porygons in the world. If they trace back further, there will be records in Silph Co.'s books that the porygon subjected to the check is indeed manufactured in Silph Co.

Since Silph Co does not belong to Team Rocket, this is not supposed to be possible, right?

Not unless you have someone high up in the corporate ladder within Silph Co. who is also secretly working for Team Rocket. That someone receives money from us as bribes and in return, he works for us. Maybe it was how Team Rocket managed to effortlessly capture the entire building in the original games. It would make a lot of sense.

In any case, that guy in Silph Co. which Team Rocket bribed to work for them is the one responsible for making sure that any illegally manufactured porygons made by Team Rocket came out clean. Of course, that guy isn't alone. There are also other undercover Team Rocket members working in Silph Co. that helped him out. I now have the entire list of these people.

Oh boy, Silph Co. is so going to have a field day with this when I finally expose Team Rocket to the world. Every big corporation in Indigo will be having one when the big day finally arrives.

I cannot claim to be the best when it comes to programming even if my knowledge in the field is good enough for me to accomplish many things, like hacking into most protected websites unseen and undetected. In any case, in the few undisturbed days that I spent in the factory helping Team Rocket audit the factory's accounts, I had the time to see and understand just what made up the program code of porygons when I looked it up during my free time. There's no way I can make my own porygon just from seeing the full code because it is just that complex, but fortunately, my skills in programming is good enough to understand what I am seeing.

It's interesting.

Porygons, at their very core, are artificial intelligence. They are initially made with the intention of using them to help humans in the area of space exploration since they don't need to breathe. Whoever first created these pokemon must be an idealistic genius with a heart of gold because he programmed these creatures to help humanity. That very idea of '_helping humanity_' is a core part of the porygon's code that makes porygons, porygons. Take that part of the code out and the A.I. will never work. It is a failsafe that the original creator of the porygon input into his creation to ensure that his work will never be misused. So far, no one had managed to create a working porygon without that failsafe.

Guess someone in this world did better than Tony Stark when it comes to building an A.I to save the world. Here, we have porygons. In the MCU verse which I can now only vaguely remember, we have Ultron.

Pokemon beats MCU, hands down, in the artificial intelligence department, period.

However, even with all the failsafe in place, all it takes to make porygons work for Team Rocket is a little bit of misdirection.

Porygons are programmed to help humans. They derive joy from helping us do our chores. To not let a porygon help its master is akin to torture for them. They will literally stress themselves out if they have nothing to do. It may be why Nosy kept coming back to disturb me, because it had nothing to do as a young porygon since all the chores were probably taken by the older porygons already running rampant in the cybernetwork in Celadon base.

Using that unique trait of porygons, Team Rocket's scientists input a different code, almost like some sort of malware, on top of the original one to allow our own manufactured porygons to recognise us as their masters, to never betray the organisation. That's how Team Rocket secretly amassed the warriors to make up their little cyber army. Even the Indigo League did not have one as impressive as theirs.

It's honestly worrying.

So, next question. How do Team Rocket make a profit out of manufacturing porygons?

Let's say the factory produces ten porygons every month. Out of the ten, about three goes to the Game Corner. These porygons are untouched with no malware installed on them so that they can come out clean during the random inspections done by the police. Another two might be assigned to help out in one of Team Rocket's numerous hideouts. These porygons usually stay in Celadon's cybernetwork because only the most important and physically secure hideouts are allowed to have porygons working for them there. It is also in Celadon that these porygons are input with the malware to make them work for us. If their help is needed elsewhere, they travel to wherever they are needed through the internet.

The remaining five will be sold on the black market to the highest bidder. It is also where the greatest source of revenue of Team Rocket's porygon business comes from. Whether the porygons are inputted with the malware depends on the situation. Team Rocket spies on other corporations or targets of interest by selling our buyers porygons that are secretly installed with the program code of our own creation. It is how Team Rocket is able to keep an eye on all of our allies and sometimes, enemies.

Neat, huh?

However, the scientists in Team Rocket must be slacking. Nosy comes out clean when I run a check on it. Nothing out of the ordinary popped up when I scanned it. I even ran different types of checks a few times and every single time Nosy comes out clean. It hasn't been modified by Team Rocket yet. Nosy had somehow been missed.

In that case, don't mind if I do.

Using Team Rocket's own program code as a base, I modified it a little so that Nosy only recognise me as its master. It doesn't even matter if Nosy got caught by another trainer, because the code itself will only ever allow me to be recognised by Nosy as its master. Now, I have another option that I can use to bring Team Rocket down. I have a brilliant A.I. that is absolutely loyal to me working for my cause.

Is what I did manipulative? I know. Immoral? Yeah. Do I care?

No.

You cannot afford to care about such trivial things if you are working in Team Rocket. Furthermore, I am also a secret agent of the Government tasked to remove the blight that is Team Rocket from the region. Sacrifices will always have to be made. Morals is never an issue in this regard.

Results are.

"Team Captain, is this all of your men?"

"Yes, Sir." Edgar answered a firm reply as he and his men stood in one straight line, back straight, in front of me. We are now in the room which I had been using for the past few days to conduct my audit.

"Well, congratulations. Nothing suspicious turned up when it comes to the porygon business."

"We are loyal to Team Rocket. Everything is for the glory of Team Rocket." Edgar replied. His men followed his example and began to chant his last sentence. Team Rocket might as well be a cult at this point with how often they are repeating this phrase.

"I know." I replied as I adjusted the breton cap that I always wore on my head. "Except that-"

My shiftry, which had been beside me all this time, pounced on one of Edgar's men upon my silent signal, pinning him down onto the floor. He is one of the two pokemon given to me as a reward by Ariana. The other one is a bisharp.

"Sir!" Edgar cried out in worry upon the sudden turn of events. "What's-"

"Last year, December twelfth." I picked up a book that recorded all of Team Rocket's illegal transactions and read it off from there. "The physical record of the transaction we have with Team Magma from Hoenn does not tally with the records in our database. Not only that, someone attempted to _cover it up_ and I would have missed it if Executive Petrel didn't task me to host them here in Kanto last year. I knew from memory the _exact _goods we were transacting with them."

I snapped the book shut. The sound reverberated loudly across the now eerily silent room.

"_One missing **Up-Grade**_." I hissed. "I don't have to tell you how **_strict _**we control the flow of such items out there on the market, do I? There is a damn good reason why we don't want too many porygon-2s running around."

Edgar and the rest of his men immediately fell on their knees, trembling all over. They now know that they are in deep shit. It doesn't matter if they weren't the ones doing it and the only traitor is the guy shiftry is currently pinning down. The porygon business is a very important business for Team Rocket. Because of the sensitive nature of the porygon business, when someone on the team gets into trouble, _everyone _gets into trouble.

"What was it that you told me when I first came here? _I checked everything myself, Sir. Every single one of us here serves the organisation with undying loyalty._" I repeated Edgar's words back at him as I sat comfortably on my chair, legs crossed in a relaxed manner while sipping on some warm tea. "You want to say that again?"

"I-I have no idea-"

"Then maybe you should have been more diligent."

On my cue, shiftry slammed the traitor's head into the ground. Not enough to kill him or knock him out, but enough to make him feel a lot of pain. I then turned my attention on him.

"Do I need to work my magic on you and get you to spill everything, or are you going to confess truthfully?"

"M-My mother needed urgent medical treatment, Sir!" The traitor begged from his position. My heart goes out to him, really, but I cannot help him. If I show even a shred of mercy and it somehow got the Executives to get suspicious of me, then everything I had done so far would have been for nothing. The only way to get concrete proof that Giovanni really is the true leader of Team Rocket is to somehow get myself promoted to Executive.

As Team Rocket's Exterminator, I cannot show any mercy when I am on my job. Not without a very good reason to.

"I-I don't h-have the money! I really needed the money!" The man continues to beg. "I-I can pay it all back! Dock it from my pay! Send me out on missions to redeem myself! Demote me! But please! Don't kill me! If I die, there is no one else to look after my mother! Please! I beg you!"

I let out an audible and long sigh before walking up to the man before lowering myself so that we can see each other better. I pulled at his hair to get him to raise his head to look at me from where he is on the floor, still pinned down by shiftry.

This person really is an idiot.

"Team Rocket does **_not _**tolerate traitors. It does not matter how big or small the action may be nor does it matter for what intentions you reaped the organisation's benefit for your own. We don't do _charity_. The only punishment for traitors is _death_. I thought we made that _very clear_ the very first day you join."

I gave a few seconds to let my words sink in.

"If you were honest with us, maybe we could have done something to help you. We do have staff benefits, you know that? Free dental, subsidised loans for hard working members who really needed the cash, sometimes if the economy is good everyone gets a year end bonus. Why did you think that pocketing the profits of an Up-Grade was a good idea, you **_moron_**?"

Because of his stupid move, I now have to stain my hands with blood again. I wasn't kidding when I said that Team Rocket has staff benefits. How else did you think they managed to secure their employees' loyalty? In fact, Team Rocket is damn good at employee retention, to the point that I sincerely think corporations worldwide should actually learn from them in this area.

The team Team Rocket of now is beyond a terrorist organisation. They are a _corporation_ that is slowly transforming into a _nation_. A massive underground corporation that not only has its roots spread over various sectors of Indigo's many industries and politics, but also owning their own private army.

Team Rocket arguably has the power to topple the entire Indigo. Whether it is possible is still debatable as of now, but at the rate that they are growing, they can readily do so by the next decade.

I don't have much time left.

The man is now whimpering in fear and regret after hearing my words. My eyes softened as I asked him my next question.

"Does your mother know that you are a Rocket?"

"N-No."

"How old is she?"

"S-Seventy-Eight this year."

I stuck my hands in his pockets and pulled out his phone before putting it in his hand.

"On the account that you were a loyal member until you pulled that stupid move, I can give you the benefit to say your last words to your mother. This is the only kindness I can show you. You have five minutes. Spend it well."

Everyone else remained silent for the next five minutes when the man spent his last moments speaking to his only remaining family through the phone. The elderly woman on the other end of the line would never know that this is the last time she will ever speak to her son.

This tragedy could have been easily avoided. What a pity.

"T-Thank you." The man rasped out when he finally finished his call. I merely nodded in affirmation before doing a hand gesture. Without warning, shiftry suddenly slit his throat, giving the man a quick and painless death.

I may be an Exterminator, but I am capable of mercy too. My own brand of mercy.

"Clean the mess up. Make his death look like an accident." I instructed the other members in the room. "Let's not break his mama's heart more than it would already be."

"Yes, Sir."

"I cannot hear you."

"Yes, Sir!"

I turned back to Edgar, who is still kneeling on the floor with the rest of his men. From the grim look on his face, he knew that he is next. Since he is the Team Captain in charge of this facility, anything that happened here is his responsibility.

"I will have to report your failure to the Executives, Team Captain. Sadly, you know Executive Petrel isn't a very forgiving person. I don't know what he has in store for you, but I suggest that it is better for you to assume the worst to happen. You have a family, do you not? A loving wife and two beautiful children living just at the other end of the city? Spend some time with them while you still can. You never know when it would be your last."

A subtle reminder and threat to him that I am watching his every move, and that his life is not the only ones in danger if he tried to do anything stupid.

"I-I understand, Sir."

I turned to leave, my pokemon following me. I paused when I was just about to exit the room. It's best to make things clear to save me future troubles.

"And oh, please don't do anything stupid like trying to run away from the organisation. Because if you do, I will most likely be the one sent to eliminate you. If that were to happen, I will have no choice but to show you why I am called the organisation's Exterminator."

I turned back to look at Edgar in the eye.

"By _exterminate_, I mean erasing every single person that you ever known or loved. How painful that will be for them depends on how much you annoyed me in your futile attempts to escape. Please don't make things more troublesome for me than it already is."

"Y-Yes, Sir."

I exit the factory with my mood ruined. It's not like I enjoy killing people, but when you are working for the largest terrorist group in the world, such things are unavoidable.

When I'm certain that there is no one around me, I held my phone up and spoke to the porygon residing in it.

"Nosy? Drop 3,000,000 pokedollars from my bank account into the moron's mother. Make sure that it cannot be traced back to me."

The Government at least had a conscience to pay me for my services. I also earn quite a sum from the Government as their secret operative. I never did get the chance to spend a single penny from it because I was never given a break. Might as well use it to do some good.

There, now my mood is a _little _better.

Just a little.

* * *

**AN: Since people are asking, yes, RE's world is happening in the same world as RftS, and also all the other pokemon fics I have. Hope this clears things up.**

**Hope you guys enjoy the story thus far.**

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Elite Officer Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Elite Officer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon, (Nosy), genderless**


	8. Chapter 7- Dark Night

"Evening, Senator Langley."

I watched in amusement when the man in his sixties with greying hair spun around in shock when I spoke to him in his house the moment he returned from work. I am currently sitting in a dark corner of his mansion on a luxurious and spacious couch, sipping on some of his fine wine with my houndoom and umbreon lazing around by my feet.

The rest of the smaller members of my team are hidden and spread out around the mansion, keeping a watch for any suspicious individuals that might be nearby, but Senator Langley did not need to know that.

Did I also mention that his adorable ten year old granddaughter is now asleep, her head resting in my lap? It is basic protocol for me to use my target's loved ones against them because it made my work so much easier. Children are always the most effective ones to use against my targets when I want to make my message known. It works every time.

The little girl won't be waking up for the next few hours. Gengar had made very sure of that with Hypnosis. Everyone else in this building is now asleep and they won't remember anything when they wake up thanks to my pokemon expertise in Hypnosis.

"Y-You are…"

I slowly pointed to the 'R' printed on the left side of my uniform. I saw his eyes widening in realisation.

"Our Leader needs a little… _help_." I chose my words carefully as I tenderly stroked the little girl's head as if she is my little sister. The Senator looked like he might have a heart attack when he saw me doing that. "It's time for you to be of use to us, Senator. Surely you don't think that all the money we had been remitting to you all these years are for nothing?"

"N-No, but-"

"But?" I pressed on, daring him to say further. "Do you really think that you could climb to where you are now without our support? Who eliminated your opposition in the election seven years ago? We can easily bring you up just as easily as we can bring you down. Choose your next words wisely, Senator."

There was a moment of silence.

"What do I need to do?"

I have to give this old man some credit. He is surprisingly calm about everything, even going so far as to head for the kitchen to pour a drink for himself.

"The ban on the import of rare stones and minerals from Kanto to Johto? We want you to lift it."

"T-That's impossible!" Senator Langley exclaimed on reflex. "No one would agree to it! If we do it, Johto's economy will take a huge hit and it will be overall detrimental to Indigo! The President will not agree to such an arrangement!"

"It's not our job to question." I reminded the Senator. Houndoom aided me in my threat by giving a low growl in warning. Umbreon jumped up and curled himself up in my lap, nestling himself close to the Senator's granddaughter.

More specifically, umbreon's jaws are now _a lot _closer to the girl's unprotected throat.

"All we need is for you to make it a reality. We don't care how you make it happen. If there's anyone standing in your way that you cannot remove, give us a call and we will handle it for you."

I tossed a phone to the Senator.

"Use this to contact us. We are expecting great things from you, Senator. Do not keep us waiting."

I stood up and walked out of the mansion unhindered. To the Senator, it would look like I just vanished from view, thanks to the illusion my zoroark casted over the entire mansion. I walk along the vacant and dimly lit street with my dark types beside me, enjoying the comfort the darkness provides.

Weavile jumped and landed on my shoulders the moment he regrouped with us. I can see a faint outline of honchkrow circling above us in the dark night sky. Ninetales had rejoined me and is walking by my side, similar to houndoom and umbreon. Gengar is in my shadow as per usual. Bisharp, shiftry, and zoroark are walking behind me, their footsteps loud and clear in the silent night. Exeggutor pulls up the rear, its leaves rustling as it moves. Hydreigon and drapion are in their pokeballs because they are too big and noisy. Nosy is silent as it hid itself within my phone, I had asked Petrel if I could have him permanently and he had agreed since Nosy made my work so much easier and efficient. It helps that my track record in Team Rocket thus far had been stellar. They trust me enough to let me own such a pokemon on my team.

Most of my pokemon are dark types. I always did have an affinity with dark types. Dark types are naturally drawn towards me and I always could understand them on an instinctive level. I don't even have that kind of connection with ninetales, and she's my starter.

My special affinity with dark types is what allows me to tame the most vicious of pokemon with this typing. They are more willing to trust me as compared to any other trainer. It's not uncommon to see wild dark types spying and following after me when I am on my nightly strolls, curious about who I am. That's just how unnatural the attraction dark types have towards me. I am a magnet to them.

This unexplained ability of mine is what made me a good Dark Specialist. I can understand them and they can understand me. It's how I bonded with the members of my team that has the dark typing as we shared our history.

Almost every single one of my pokemon have their own history. It's just a matter of how sad their lives were before we met. The most fortunate ones led normal lives before ending up on my team.

You want an example? Let's start from the ones with a sadder story.

Hydreigon was deemed a failure after an experiment gone wrong. The experiment done on my hydreigon allows him to take a lot more hits and had artificially allowed him to surpass his natural limits, but at the cost of his sanity. I don't know what the scientists injected into him, but no one could tame him and the dragon just keeps going about on a blind rampage. It's like he is constantly in mental anguish and lashing out is the only response he knows. Only I managed to get him to listen and it was for this reason hydreigon was given to me, because the other alternative would be to terminate it and it would be a loss for Team Rocket to put down such a powerful pokemon after so much money was invested in it to make it stronger.

It still doesn't change the fact that hydreigon is still prone to violent bouts of madness whenever it goes into battle, but I worked around it.

The only thing I could train hydreigon in is to let it learn how to not fight like a mindless idiot whenever it goes into battle. Fighting like a berserker is alright, but fighting like an idiot is not. There is a fine difference between the two.

Zoroark was a similar case.

Zoroark was experimented on to see if his illusion casting abilities could be further enhanced. Unlike the average zoroark, whatever was done to mine allows him to cast an illusion that can easily affect a small town if he bothered to make an effort, and he can go even further than that when pushed.

However, that experiment was still deemed a failure because now that zoroark possess such a power, it no longer wants to take orders from Team Rocket or remain with us, the humans who forcefully stole him from his previous trainer by killing her. It has the ability to constantly escape Team Rocket's grasp with such a power but **_I_** was the one sent to retrieve him with instructions to terminate the dark type if he proves to be uncontrollable when it escaped for the ninth time. My affinity with dark type goes both ways. I would instinctively know the location of any dark type around me, it's like having a sixth sense. I am a walking dark type radar.

I don't know how I got this gift, but I am not going to question it.

After knowing zoroark's history from the scientists when I asked before I embarked on that mission, I gave him a choice. Either die by my hands (_because I have a job to do as an Exterminator and failure isn't an option),_ or work with me to bring Team Rocket down. The both of us have a common goal of revenge. Zoroark wants revenge for his previous trainer, I want revenge for Jane. There's no reason to not work together.

Zoroark made his choice. I was given custody over the illusion pokemon after it was proven that zoroark will not take orders from anybody else.

Umbreon was discarded after the scientists failed yet again to produce an eevee that can change and transform into its many evolutionary forms at will. I just happen to be there to pick him up when we first met. The experiments done on umbreon when he was still an eevee included many different forms of dissection and painful forced exposure to numerous evolutionary stones at the same time. Even after umbreon evolved from an eevee, he still has the scars on his body that documented each and every of his suffering, hidden underneath his black fur. Sometimes umbreon will still have nightmares about what he went through and wake up all of a sudden, screaming himself hoarse. Sometimes I would wake up in the morning to find him snuggling close to me on my bed for comfort after experiencing a bad dream.

The rest of my team met me through more normal means. I got ninetales as an egg that I stole when I was still a child during one of Team Rocket's many raids. I got exeggutor as an exeggcute that was left to die when Team Rocket judged it to be too weak to be of any use to them. I met weavile as a sneasel when I was posted to Mahogany Town as a grunt and I caught him for the fun of it back then, wanting to experience what a normal pokemon trainer did on their journey. I got honchkrow as a murkrow when I joined a raid that was tasked to capture a flock of its brethren when we razed its home down to the ground. Drapion was poached from somewhere and given to me by Executive Petrel after I was promoted to Elite Officer. The only abnormal thing about her is that she is constantly looking for foes to compete with in a deathmatch, which is a result of whatever unspeakable things had been done to her by the Rockets. Bisharp and shiftry was given to me by Executive Ariana for a job well done. Nosy joined me because he was being nosy.

Houndoom and gengar, I got them when Jane died. She can no longer take care of them, so I will do so in her stead.

I sent the President a quick message on what to expect come tomorrow morning with Nosy making sure that no one can intercept and hack into my phone, even remotely. He will have to play along with it for at least a short while to ensure that my cover would not be blown.

At least I told him long ago that Senator Langley was involved with Team Rocket. The President only kept Langley around because while you keep your friends close, it is wiser to keep your enemies closer.

I continue on my late night stroll, hands in my pockets and still no destination in my mind. Where am I now anyway?

A quick check of the signpost nearby told me that I am now at a corner of Azalea. This is Jane's hometown, from what little memories she had of her childhood before she got abducted and ended up getting forced to become a secret operative for the Government.

Yes, forced. We were never given a choice. What we were given was the illusion of choice. What we thought we remembered was actually an illusion, the illusion that we voluntarily chose to become a secret operative and to sacrifice our all for it.

My hunch turned out to be right. It took a lot of careful experimentation and psychic digging in my mind. Psychic, ghost, dark. I have members of the Mind Arts Trio on my team. Exeggutor, gengar, and umbreon had been very careful to not let me slip into a comatose when they were dangerously exploring my mind in unison, looking for that unknown thing I suspect to be housing in my own head.

The anger I felt after knowing what we found in my mind made me nearly blow my cover.

_Hypnosis_. That one move that is my specialty had been used on me without me knowing it. I should have known. I should have been able to tell the signs. I don't know when a mental suggestion of _'Absolute loyalty to the Indigo President, Kain Briggs. Bring down Team Rocket at all costs.'_ had been implanted into my brain, but if I had to hazard a guess, it was when we were still children and training in the Government's secret facility which they used to train child spies. Our memories were probably altered at some point during our time there. That program has since been terminated, but its legacy lived on.

**_Me_**. I'm now the only one left.

No wonder. _No wonder_ my body refused to move when all I wanted was to save Jane at that fateful moment. My mind didn't allow it to, not with the mental suggestion hindering it. No wonder I never did anything that would betray the President. It's not like the idea never crossed my mind, it did many times, but in the end I would always find a reason that justifies why I shouldn't do it. And for some reason, I never once found it suspicions.

The same mental suggestion was probably implanted into everyone else. Including Jane.

The thought of it made me **_furious_**.

My pokemon had very carefully removed that mental suggestion from my mind without leaving a trace. There was even a failsafe planted in my brain, an application of Future Sight that should anyone tried to tamper with the mental suggestion in my mind to find out more about the League's secret, a burst of psychic energy will instantly fry my brain. Removal of the foreign **_thing _**in my head in its entirety is a slow and gradual process. It is extremely risky and suicidal, but _we did it._

I am no longer a puppet.

I still want to take down Team Rocket. For that end, I will tolerate the President and his shenanigans until I have no more use for him. He still thinks I am within his control, which is good. Let him continue to think that way. It will make the betrayal even more sweet. The finale that will be playing when the curtains draw to a close will be _epic_. I guarantee it.

I also need to start thinking of what to do after I managed to take down Team Rocket _and _escape the Government _and _the Indigo League. It's a secret that I kept from the Government, but my body has been failing me. I don't have long left to live and I accepted it as karma for all the evil I had wrought upon this world.

Even then, I want a chance.

I want a chance to experience what living in a world of pokemon should be like without all the evil and darkness weighing down on me. Even if it's just a little while, I want to experience that joy or being a pokemon trainer. That is the only selfish wish that I have.

I began to cough uncontrollably and I quickly fumbled through my pockets to find my medicine. I managed to pop in a few pills with zoroark's help. After a painful minute, my coughing fit eventually stopped.

There is also some blood that I coughed out that now sits on my palm.

Surprisingly, Team Rocket _do _care about the welfare of their more important members. The medicine pills was created by the doctors and scientists in the organisation. Petrel even promised that they will find a way to cure whatever was ailing me.

Team Rocket may be merciless, and I can argue that the only reason why they are doing this for me is because I am invaluable to the organisation. It's hard to find a replacement with the same skills and experience as me. Also, there is a weird sort of camaraderie among us. Even in this shithole that is filled with deception, betrayal, mistrust, and evil deeds, Team Rocket is strong not only because of its size, but also because the members do look out and care for each other to a certain extent.

Weird, I know, but it is true. Giovanni really is a master at controlling his subordinates and gaining their loyalty even without him ever meeting anyone that is not an Executive. He is a true leader. He knows how to run an organisation.

And I will have to betray them, the evil people who actually cared for my well being. People who actually cared whether I live or die, unlike the President. I don't even know what is right or wrong anymore, only that I really want to not let Jane's death to be in vain. That desperate cling onto that notion is the only thing keeping me sane right now.

I really hate this job of being a spy. It sucks big time, especially when you cannot help but form an emotional connection with the people you are spying on.

"I'm fine." I said in a hoarse voice after my coughing fit had died down, my hands leaning against a wall to support my body weight. I spotted the concerned looks my pokemon are sending my way. Even honchkrow flew down and perched on a nearby tree to take a better look at me after noticing that I wasn't feeling well.

"I don't have much time left." I whispered in the dead of the night, the street still vacant and silent. "We will have to act soon. I have almost everything I need to bring Team Rocket down, I just need to see Giovanni's face and get concrete, indisputable proof that he is the true leader of this stupid cult, then we can all be free."

I need to create an opportunity for myself. I cannot afford to wait for much longer. Any longer and I might just keel over and die. Any longer and Team Rocket might grow to be too strong to be taken down. Nothing must be left behind. All the corruption, all their hideouts, businesses, army, contacts. Every single person that have or had dealings with Team Rocket needs to be weeded out and erased for Indigo to be finally purged of this cancer, for me to have my revenge.

I want Jane to have her closure, and then I can finally join her.

Ninetales nuzzled her head against my hand as a show of support. She is a creature that is said to be able to live a thousand years. She is the one who will watch the entire team die, be it in battle, sickness, or old age. This is too cruel to her.

Hopefully, gengar is really immortal like all ghosts are, as speculated by the prevalent theory about ghosts types. Maybe gengar and ninetales can keep each other company after we are long gone.

"Let's go." I said and continued walking, ignoring the concerned looks my pokemon sent my way. I have no intention of sleeping just yet.

There is no rest for the wicked.

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Elite Officer Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Elite Officer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon, (Nosy), genderless**


	9. Chapter 8- Poaching

Winter had came, and so did my next assignment.

Mission: Infiltrate the Cherrygrove Nature Reserve. Capture the apex of the area, a wild mamoswine, and bring it back.

Basically, illegal pokemon poaching.

I know a little about that particular mamoswine because it is somewhat well known in Cherrygrove Town. Word has it that the pokemon is already on the high end of the Elite level, which is rare to come across in the wild. The reason why pokemon are willing to ally themselves with humans is because it is hard for them to reach that level of strength in the wild. Humans may be weak in body, but they are creative with their minds. We help train pokemon to help them get stronger and surpass their limits. In return, they work for us. It was how pokemon trainers first came into existence. Friendship comes much later.

Or at least that was what the history books said. That is already a very heavily summarised explanation given by the experts of how human-pokemon relationship first started.

The main problem of my new assignment wasn't the capturing part. It is how to do so without getting caught because there are so many people visiting the Cherrygrove Nature Reserve everyday. That place is also protected by the Rangers and they constantly patrol the area to maintain the peace in it. If possible, I don't want to leave any clues behind that might suggest Team Rocket is behind the capture of the mamoswine, because I want to hurry up with my plan and impress the higher ups enough to want to promote me into an Executive.

I decided that I will just disguise the poaching as the work of a random pokemon poacher. Problem is, how do I make that outcome a reality?

"You want an ice type? As a discardable decoy?"

"Yes, Sir." I confirmed. "Not just any ice type, but one that is known for being overly aggressive in the wild. It doesn't need to be overly strong, it just needs to be extremely tenacious and violent enough to not be put down easily."

My direct superior, Executive Petrel, hummed in thought for a moment before nodding.

"Very well, I shall allow it. We should have a few failed defects waiting to be disposed of anyway that can do the job. Might as well make full use of them before they expire."

I left Petrel's office and headed for what everyone unofficially dubbed as the "Distribution Room". It is where everyone gets their assigned pokemon if they ever need one on their mission. Of course, a superior must approve of such an arrangement in the first place. Most of the time, we have to return the borrowed pokemon but if you did well enough on your mission, sometimes members are allowed to keep them if their work is impressive enough to merit such a reward.

"This is the abomasnow you requested, Sir."

I took the pokeball that housed the ice type and left the room. I have a mission to plan for. Since mamoswine is also a ground type, I have a sneaking suspicion that it is Giovanni himself that wants that powerful mamoswine. The mamoswine that I am targeting lives in the Nature Reserve and Giovanni cannot get his hands on it through legal means, so he resorted to using illegal methods to obtain it.

I have confidence that I can defeat that mamoswine no matter how powerful it is. I have in my hands the power of Mega Evolution, one of the best kept secrets the Pokemon World League is hiding from the public. Usually, only the Thirteen Pillars, which consists of the Regional Champion, Elite Four, and the Gym Leaders are allowed to know and possess the items needed to invoke the transformation. High ranking officials among the League's forces are also allowed the same treatment on a case by case basis. Leaking such information to the public is an offence punishable by death, because this knowledge falling into the wrong hands can easily create chaos and destroy the very fabric of society.

Team Rocket knew about this secret a long time ago. I personally suspect that Giovanni is the reason. Executives are automatically granted a key stone and a mega stone. Elite Officers like me are also allowed to know of their existence, but whether we are allowed to possess these items depends on whether the organisation trusts us enough with it. No one wants a rogue member making away with such powerful and rare items. It is not easy to find a key stone and a corresponding mega stone.

I myself am trusted with a key stone and a houndoominite by Executive Petrel.

Currently, the scientists in Team Rocket are suspecting that me overusing Mega Evolution might explain the unknown cause of the illness that is plaguing me. It immediately garnered the attention of the higher ups, because such a case had not been documented before in the organisation's records and also not recorded by the Pokemon World League. The only cases of overuse of Mega Evolution backfiring thus far applies only to pokemon, not humans. As a general rule of thumb, Mega Evolution should not be sustained for over five minutes or the pokemon in question might suffer some serious backlash. Usually, that backlash is death.

Funny enough, houndoom never suffered any backlash from all the times I invoked Mega Evolution on him to cremate everyone who stood in my way when my mission gets impossibly difficult, but I, his trainer, suffered from one instead.

My unique case immediately sparked the scientists to immediately investigate on this matter, because if Mega Evolution do has the side effect of not only affecting the pokemon, but also the trainer, then it is a potential market to tap on.

Imagine it, that when suddenly this side effect of Mega Evolution is made known to every regional League and they are worrying that they might lose a Gym Leader or two from such an incurable disease, Team Rocket suddenly appears before them with a cure. People with the power of the level of a Gym Leader are rare to come by as it is. They are invaluable assets to any region, their wellbeing is of utmost importance from a military and strategic standpoint.

The cure will definitely be selling like hot pancakes.

Of course, all of these are assuming that Team Rocket's scientists have the ability to create the cure in the first place, and that the illness affecting me really is a side effect of overusing Mega Evolution.

Back to the question at hand.

With my entire team, I am confident that I can easily subdue and capture the mamoswine without using Mega Evolution. All I need is just some careful planning and great timing.

Time to commence the mission.

* * *

I chose to embark on my mission on a weekday, because there are lesser visitors on weekdays and therefore, lesser Rangers patrolling the area, which indirectly translates to the increased possibility of this mission being easier. It would also mean lesser unfortunate casualties, if I am lucky enough.

I simply visited the Nature Reserve as a normal visitor, casting my Rocket uniform aside and wearing casual clothes and protective winter gear so as not to freeze myself in this cold season. I even took the time to enjoy the sights like any visitor would. It is not mandatory to wear the Rocket uniform when conducting our missions. In fact, most of us only wear it in our hideout. The only time we wear it in public is when we have to make a public statement.

Usually through violence, death, and gore.

After two hours of enjoying myself and ensuring that I am in a blind spot where security cameras are unable to see me, I sneaked off and travelled away from the designated route that visitors must use and not stray away from. I changed my clothes to disguise myself once out of sight. My new attire is entirely black in colour, which sticks out like a sore thumb in winter because of all the white snow, but I don't particularly care because zoroark can easily hide me with his illusionary abilities. Still, I put on a hood, a pair of shades, and even a face mask just to be on the safe side. I don't want to be recognised.

I let out the abomasnow I was loaned and gengar immediately emerged from the shadows to implant a mental suggestion in its already broken mind. This abomasnow will be the distraction I need to buy me time and get the Rangers' attention off me while I am busy searching and capturing the mamoswine. All the abomasnow needs to do is to cause a big enough commotion at the other end of the Nature Reserve to attract as many Rangers as it could to its location while I use this borrowed time to complete my job.

The abomasnow wandered off and I immediately went to look for the mamoswine. I have a vague idea and the general direction of where it is most likely to appear based on what I found out after some illegal digging through the Rangers' database.

"Weavile."

My weavile immediately leapt off and disappeared within the trees to find packs of wild sneasels living in the area in order to ask for information. In the wild, sneasels and weaviles live in packs, and they often share information with each other on nearly everything when it comes to hunting their prey. Because they are individually weak, they made up for it by working in groups to hunt enough food to sustain themselves as a group.

I'm taking advantage of weavile's primal instinct to find out the information that I need to know. Meanwhile, I will be travelling ahead, riding on ninetales' back in the generic direction where the mamoswine will most likely appear so as not to waste time. Zoroark is running by our side while honchkrow is flying above us in the air. We are all hidden from view thanks to zoroark cloaking us with an illusion.

Weavile met up with us soon enough with the acquired information I need. With him leading the way, I soon arrived at the bottom of a mountain where a huge cave is. I let out my team as houndoom howled out a challenge. When that did not provoke a reaction out of the mamoswine, houndoom simply torched the entire cave with a Flamethrower.

There was a rumbling sound before the ground shook. With every single sound of thundering footsteps came a miniature earthquake. I instructed zoroark to stay hidden because he is crucial in maintaining the illusion that hides this upcoming battle from the Rangers' view. The same instruction goes for exeggutor, who is keeping a lookout on our immediate surroundings using his psychic abilities.

A humongous mamoswine soon emerged from the cave and bellowed a warcry, the earth shaking with it as its mighty tusks shined under the dim sunlight thanks to the winter. My team and I stood before it, unbothered at its display of power.

If this is a one-on-one fight, I might be worried at the thought of facing this immensely powerful mamoswine, but in front of our collective might, the mamoswine might as well be nothing.

Dark types are individually weak, so they almost always stick together as a group. Only very few dark types display solidarity behaviour, and usually those are the species who are naturally born strong.

However, not everyone is born equal. Compared to other types of pokemon, dark types as a whole are always individually weak. Most dark types are frail in body and weak in defense. One hit is all it takes to crush them.

Because they are weak, they never fight fair. It's basic survival instinct.

Dark types _never _fight fair.

"Torment, Taunt."

Honchkrow immediately used the two moves to greatly hinder mamoswine before staying out of mamoswine's way, only skirting around the edge of our battle. Her only job is to ensure that Torment and Taunt is constantly in effect and to also keep an eye out on our surroundings. As long as she doesn't fall, mamoswine will never be able to use its full power.

Drapion and hydreigon immediately rushed into the battle. Drapion clashed with mamoswine, attempting to overpower it with sheer physical strength alone as her pincers and claws drip with poisonous venom. Hydreigon fired beams of attack down at mamoswine to weaken the behemoth, snarling angrily the entire time.

Mamoswine started out by using Earthquake, only to be interrupted by a Sucker Punch from bisharp. Shiftry took on a supporting role by constantly draining mamoswine's strength with Giga Drain, which does not seem like much now, but the effects of Giga Drain on mamoswine will be obvious as the battle drags on. Umbreon took on a defensive role with bisharp as they used moves like Protect to protect our strongest battlers, always staying at the frontlines because they have the best defense. Weavile constantly sneaked in pot shots at the mamoswine as it darted about in the snow, clearly enjoying the thrill of the battle.

Ninetales and houndoom let loose with massive bursts of fire, easily dealing the most damage out of the entire team on the twin tusk pokemon. Gengar had casted a Curse on mamoswine on top of the already inflicted burned and poisoned status and sniped in the occasional Hex. It is just a matter of time before the mamoswine falls.

Weavile called for a Beat Up, and immediately the entire team pummelled the mamoswine. Like I said, dark types don't fight fair. They use every means in their arsenal to ensure their victory. Because for them, the only way they can survive as weak individuals is to play dirty.

Mamoswine did try its best to turn the tide back to its favour, constantly trying to either bury us into the ground or freeze us with huge blasts of Blizzard. However, for every attack it threw at us, we throw it back with interest using Payback. Everytime mamoswine suffered damage, someone on my team will follow up with an Assurance to make it hurt even more.

Houndoom and ninetales were busy roasting the mamoswine with the largest wall of fire I had ever seen when exeggutor spoke to me in our telepathic link.

_'Master, the vain avian said that she spotted a female trainer heading straight for us. She looks to be an expert on flying types.'_

"Houndoom, ninetales, that is all your fault. A fire that big was uncalled for." I chided without a care in the world, not even caring that they just started a massive forest fire because compared to the shit I've been through, this is nothing of importance. "You guys overdid it. Zoroark didn't manage to hide a fire that big in time. Anyway, finish it, guys. We need to leave soon. We overstayed our welcome."

Drapion, weavile, and bisharp coordinated and used a Night Slash at the same time. With Taunt and Torment still in effect, mamoswine had no way of fully defending itself from an attack that came from three different angles and at three different speeds. An Overheat from houndoom finally put it down for the count.

_'The approaching human will be reaching us soon. I don't think I can teleport us out of here in time. The abomasnow must have failed in its given task.'_

"Wasn't expecting too much out of it anyway." I replied as I recalled most of my team, only letting houndoom, honchkrow, exeggutor, and zoroark to remain outside of their pokeballs. "Is zoroark's illusion broken?"

_'Only partially. The trickster is working on it, but he is complaining that it is difficult to maintain a convincing widespread illusion within this blizzard. I personally think he is just slacking around.'_

"He is _definitely _slacking around. Tell him to not be lazy."

I observed the raging snowstorm around me that is about to die down, but not fast enough for our cause. The mamoswine's Blizzard was unusually powerful that it actually summoned an actual blizzard here.

"Tell zoroark to make sure that he at least hides you and himself properly. It's fine if the rest of us are seen. I'm totally covered from head to toe anyway. No one can recognise me when I'm looking like this."

The houndoom and honchkrow species are common species to be found in the region, but the presence of a zoroark will definitely attract unwanted attention. I also need exeggutor to stay hidden because he is our ticket out of here.

I had only just tossed a pokeball to capture the unconscious mamoswine when the sound of flapping wings and a yell reached my ears.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

A ray of Swift was immediately fired at us which houndoom immediately intercepted. Rocks fell upon us to trap me in, an attack that I recognised as Rock Tomb. However, zoroark's illusionary copy of me is standing five feet to my left. What she just 'trapped' was my illusionary copy that mirrors my every action.

Still, whoever this person is, she knew what she is doing and she is definitely an experienced trainer.

I turned my head to look up at just who is trying to stop me. I don't recognise her, but from the attire she is wearing, I suspect that she may be a Ranger working in this area.

I also spotted a team of flying types in the air and… an _aerodactyl_?

Behind my shades, I squinted my eyes a little to take a better look. It does look a lot like the one that I unleashed to clean up after Dust's mess some time back. What a coincidence.

Not like I really care.

Houndoom unleashed a Fire Spin to trap the female Ranger and her team, which was immediately foiled when her dragonite broke them out with a Twister. Honchkrow had immediately followed up with a Drill Peck but was intercepted by her skarmory.

Interesting. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't mind engaging with this trainer in a pokemon battle, but I really need to get out of here pronto.

The aerodactyl suddenly turned all aggressive, breaking formation and started to rain attacks down on us from the air. Houndoom intercepted each and every of its attack. Yup, definitely the aerodactyl I had hypnotised back at the facility. Nothing else can explain the sudden aggressiveness it has towards me. It must have recognised us somehow.

I checked my watch. I really should be going right now.

Not willing to risk giving my identity away by shouting commands at honchkrow, however unlikely that possibility is, I signalled to honchkrow to come back to my side with a snap of my fingers. Houndoom obscured us from the trainer's view with a huge cloud of Smog with the added effect of forcing them to back off.

And then, of course, the Ranger decided that the best way to get rid of the Smog was to rain a _Draco Meteor _on us. It had forced exeggutor to immediately put up a shield of Protect to defend us. Thankfully, the dense Smog prevented zoroark from getting spotted as it regrouped with us to find shelter under exeggutor's Protect.

Using _Draco Meteor_ to clear a cloud of Smog. Talk about overkill.

_'More people are on their way. They will be reaching anytime soon.'_

Exeggutor used his psychic abilities to move the pokeball of the captured mamoswine back into my hands as he told me this. I gave my next order.

"Dark Pulse. Take them out."

If her friends are fast enough, she need not die.

Zoroark and houndoom immediately fired rays after rays of Dark Pulse in quick succession through the cloud of Smog that the Ranger's flying types are starting to disperse. With exeggutor relaying to them each of the flying types' exact location in the air, houndoom and zoroark are more than capable of taking out the entire team of flying types even with their eyes covered.

From the earlier exchange, I can easily tell that her flying types does not stand a chance against my team. Zoroark and houndoom had not been idle the entire time we were hidden by the Smog. Unseen by the Ranger, each of houndoom's and zoroark's Dark Pulse was strengthened by repeated use of Nasty Plot. As of now, just a single shot of Dark Pulse can put down each of her pokemon.

Time to get out of here.

"Exeggutor."

We teleported away, prize in hand and a forest fire raging in the background as the only evidence that I had been there. Hopefully, that Ranger will live through our encounter. I don't want to stain my hands with blood of the innocents anymore than I need to if I can help it.

I probably also left the corpse of a dead abomasnow behind too, now that I think about it.

Meh, it doesn't really matter. It does not have long to live anyway after what Team Rocket had done to it.

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Elite Officer Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Elite Officer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon, (Nosy), genderless**


	10. Chapter 9- Heart-to-Heart Talk

Thanks to my visit to Senator Langley, the discussion of lifting the ban on the import of rare stones and minerals into Johto from Kanto is now a highly debated topic. What got me scratching my head is what do Team Rocket get out of this. This doesn't seem to fit with their usual modus operandi.

Kanto is home to a rich deposit of rare stones and minerals, probably the largest deposit in the world. Lifting the ban is definitely good for Kanto, but like what Senator Langley had argued, it does not spell good news for Johto due to how the economy in Indigo is structured. Johto's economy will take a severe hit for sure, you don't need to be an economic expert to see that. Combine the economic effects the lifting on the ban will have on the two regions, it will still definitely leave an overall negative impact on Indigo as a whole.

So what do Team Rocket get out of this? In some ways, the organisation's own prosperity relies heavily on Indigo's own. If the economy is good, Team Rocket's own profits tend to rise as well because we do have a hand in many supposedly legal businesses that spans across both regions. It's just that they are very well covered up.

So why?

The topic of the ban has now derailed into something more than just the economy. Arguments had been sparked. Other topics thought to be long forgotten had been raised. Kantonians are now accusing Johtonians of unfair treatment and oppression, because Kanto's biggest natural resources that they rely on to develop their economy since its founding are its mineral deposits. The ban which was put into effect about twenty years ago sparked a heavy controversy, but it proved to be the right decision when Indigo's overall economy did improve as a whole, so the dissent gradually subsided.

That doesn't mean that it had totally vanished. Years of grudges and resentment don't just disappear overnight when Kanto and Johto had been living side by side for centuries. There have always been conflicts between the two regions even if we are united under a single banner.

Historically, Kanto had always been the poorer region out of the two. Some even say that Johto had always been profiting at Kanto's expense since Indigo's founding. Johtonians will argue otherwise. I personally never cared about the conflict between the two regions and Indigo's economy because I already have too much on my plate as it is.

However, considering the weird move that the leader of Team Rocket had just made, I may need to consider looking at the entire situation from another angle.

Nationalism. The unseen divide between Kanto and Johto.

These are the areas that I will need to look into in my spare time. The first area I will be looking at is how the economy of both regions had been faring and what laws and regulations had been put in place throughout the years, because human nature can be a very ugly thing and _everything _is always about money.

Even without doing my research, I have a gut feeling that I am probably right.

I turned off the TV news channel and decide to just go for a walk. It's time that I give her a visit.

Picking up my pokeballs and putting on my breton cap, I whistled for houndoom and he walked up to me from where he had been lazing at near the guitar left forgotten in a corner of my bedroom.

The both of us left the little cottage we call home and proceeded to take a stroll through the city. There are only two reasons why I bought a cottage in Viridian City and decided to stay here when I'm not at work. For one, it makes it easy to spy on Giovanni if I ever see him around as Viridian's Gym Leader, although somehow I had never spotted him around before. Secondly, Jane's grave is located in a hidden corner of the Viridian Forest. I visit her whenever I'm free.

Although given how busy I am lately, I hardly spent time in Viridian anymore. I haven't been visiting her for a long time.

It is evening and the sun is starting to set. There isn't much work for me to do right now and since my new workplace is at Celadon, which is reasonably near to Viridian thanks to a newly built expressway that is located at the east side of the city and links it straight to Celadon, I simply opt to travel to work from home via bus.

I stopped by the florist as per usual.

"Ah, Mr Myers! Freesia again?"

"Yes please." I replied with a smile. I only ever buy freesia flowers because she had said that she loved freesias. She loved what it symbolises, innocence and friendship.

I will decorate the entire Viridian Forest in freesia if it means bringing her back.

Jacob Myers, that is my official identity in the Indigo provided to me by the Government. The identity that Team Rocket thinks is who I am before I joined them, before I became Plague of Team Rocket. If anyone looked me up in the Government's database, I am a Viridian native, 23 years of age, orphan, and currently working as an IT consultant working for Initrial IT Consulting that is located in Celadon. That company does exist and it does provide legal and legitimate IT consulting services. However, it is also where Team Rocket houses another secret entrance that leads to the Celadon hideout under the Game Corner.

You will be surprised at the number of legitimate businesses Team Rocket has in Indigo. No wonder they are always so rich.

With the bouquet of freesia flowers in hand, I headed for the Viridian Forest with houndoom by my side. After making sure that we are not followed and nobody is looking at us, we slipped off the main route that trainers and visitors usually use, and head for the area that the Rangers had specifically put up signs for members of the public to avoid. The untamed section of the Viridian Forest is home to many ferocious and powerful wild pokemon. It is the job of the Rangers that these pokemon and the human population who visits the forest never meet each other.

I let out a few smaller members of the team to walk beside me as we trekked through the hidden route that we are all so familiar with by now. I could have simply let exeggutor teleport me there, but I wanted to take a stroll. I just want to relax and hear the sounds of nature, to enjoy the process of simply doing nothing but to walk.

Before I knew it, I reached her grave.

"Hey." I spoke as I got rid of the dried up bouquet of freesias that I previously bought for her and put the fresh bouquet on her grave in replacement. "I'm here to visit you again."

Houndoom and gengar stood by me, looking at the grave of their original trainer with a wistful look in their eyes. The rest of the team stood behind us, giving us the privacy we need.

"Nothing much changed. Did some missions for Team Rocket. Fed some info to the bastard and hopefully he doesn't go and screw things up. The Kanto ban is all the hype there is right now. Everyone's talking about it in Kanto, Johtonians don't really give a shit because they have no reason to. Finally removed the mental suggestion and also the kill switch he put in our damn minds." I summarised what I've been through these past few months, trying to imagine what it would be like if she is still alive. Trying to imagine what we could have been if we had met under better circumstances. "Poached a mamoswine recently. Houndoom and ninetales overdid it again."

Houndoom did a huff of disagreement which was backed up by ninetales.

"As you can see, they beg to differ."

I sat down on the ground, looking at the simple grave that we made for her. The 'J' that gengar had carved out years ago is all that marked this grave as hers.

She deserved so much better. She deserved to be remembered by everyone in Indigo for her sacrifice. Not only her, but the rest of the child spies that were like us and had perished in the line of duty. They all deserved so much more.

They really are the unsung heroes, and also the most unfortunate victims of the ruling body currently ruling the region. Team Rocket may be evil, but so are they.

I will make people remember them. All 358 of them.

"I'm close. I'm so very close." I whispered, hoping that she can hear me from wherever she is now. She should be in heaven. I, however, will undoubtedly will have a special place reserved for me in hell. I will never meet her because I can never go to the place where she had gone to.

"Just a little more. Just a little more and we can finally see Team Rocket burn. Everything. Everything that we had worked for. Everything that we had sacrificed. That day is coming soon. We will see them go up in flames, I promise. I'm so very close. I had worked my way up, just like you wanted me to. Thanks to Nosy, I already have most of the information I need to expose them to the world and to take them all down in just a single night."

If only she were here to see it through with me.

"The same goes for the Government. If all goes well, I will be able to tear it down soon. They are the reason why we lead such dark lives and I will see them gone, for your sake. So that people like us will never appear again. They would never know what hit them. Not the Government, not the Rockets. If they want to use me so much I will use them for my own ends. They will be nothing but my tools of destruction. All I need now is indisputable proof that Giovanni is indeed the true leader behind Team Rocket."

Houndoom curled up by my feet and gave a whimper. I can feel gengar trying to experience what I am feeling by linking our shadows as if to comfort me.

"I don't know how long I have left to live. I never really thought of what I should do when I am finally free, but I guess I will find out if I live through it. I had something very special planned for that bastard too, for putting us through this hellhole. If I have any say in it, the entire Indigo Government will be cleansed and rinsed in blood, starting from him. I'll make sure that he will be **_remembered_**."

Because any less is an injustice to her. Injustice to all 358 operatives that were under his child spies program, Project Illusion, ever since it started so many years ago. I will finish what we started. Anything after that, if there is an _after that_, is really just a bonus.

"Hopefully it is not too lonely for you up there. Or is it down there?" I chuckled at the lame joke. "I will be joining you soon and if hell ever decides to reject me, maybe I will have the chance to see you again. I don't even know how much blood had stained my hands. I don't know how many I had killed. I lost count ever since you died. Did you see me exterminating Marowak Skull? That night when the Rocket's Exterminator made his debut? That was when I truly stopped counting and caring. I killed so many that night. That bastard didn't even care when I told him it was a bad idea to let Team Rocket devour Marowak Skull. Look at what had turned out from that. Bastard thinks he knows it all when in actuality he **_doesn't_**."

The worst part is that I had long since forgotten all of their faces. Faceless people kept coming back to haunt me in my dreams with slit throats or charred bodies.

"Maybe it was better that you left before me. At least your hands are not stained with so much blood like I did. Someone like you was never suited for this double agent life anyway. I hope that you can sing as much as you like up there, down there, wherever you are now. Reserve a guitar for me until I find you again. We were supposed to be The Twin Js, remember? You are the singer, I am the guitarist. Houndoom and gengar are supposed to be the dancers or something while ninetales put on a lightshow at the back. I'm warning you, they aren't that good at it. I tried teaching them to dance, really."

I took another deep breath. I'm not worried about breaking down in a sobbing mess because my tears had long since dried up.

"Now that the mental suggestion is gone, my nightmares are not that frequent. Turns out that the mental suggestion was the thing that indirectly keep giving me nightmares. Hell if I know why that was the case. At least now I do not need to rely on gengar's Dream Eater as often as before. I am forgetting lesser and lesser things now that my mental health is right back on track. At least something went right for me for once."

I can still see her face in my mind, hear her laughter resounding in my ears. If I close my eyes I can smell her scent and feel her touch once more.

"How do you want me to kill that bastard? Bring him here and offer you his head? Nah, you probably won't like his dirty blood spilling all over your grave. How about letting everyone remembering him as the biggest stain ever recorded in Indigo's history books? I think I dug up enough dirt on him for him to be remembered for the next millennia. What do you think?"

There was a sudden breeze and the leaves rustled gently.

"I take that as a yes. I won't accept any objections."

A faint smile graced my lips when I use her favourite phrase. I can still remember her saying that phrase to me even now, even when she had been dead for seven years.

Team Rocket will fall. The President will be killed by my own two hands.

We won't accept any objections.

* * *

After our visit to Jane's grave, I got back to Viridian, recalled everyone except for houndoom and gengar before anyone spotted us and then went to grab some dinner. Houndoom strolled by my side as gengar hid in my shadows as per usual. I would let ninetales out too, but ninetales are rare as they come and having one walking beside me will just be attracting unneeded attention.

My official identity that people in Viridian knows me by is an IT consultant, a civilian. Not a trainer. An average IT consultant earning average pay has no business owning a ninetales, a symbol of affluence in certain places of Kanto.

Night eventually fell. I ended up buying myself a cone of ice cream as I sat down on a nearby bench to eat it while the sky is snowing. It is just a light shower of snow, nothing too heavy.

The street I am at has a much lower human traffic, which is the reason why I chose to be here in the first place because I wanted some peace and quiet. The sparse distribution of people who passed by sent me looks as though I am crazy because I am eating ice cream when it is winter. I honestly don't care because I'm about to die anyway. All I care about is whether I will live long enough to see Team Rocket fall with my own two eyes.

"Doesn't it make you feel colder to eat ice cream in such freezing weather?"

I turned to my left to see just who had spoken to me. I mentally gave myself a round of applause for not trying to kill that person on sight.

Motherfucking _Giovanni_.

"Eh, you get used to it after a while." I replied as I licked at the ice cream to accentuate my point while my other hand patted houndoom's head to remind him not to react. I don't feel my shadows shifting, so gengar must have somehow kept her cool.

I am an Elite Officer of Team Rocket, just one rank below the Executives. There's no way Giovanni does not know who I am if he is the leader of Team Rocket. For him to purposely approach me like that, he must have a motive in doing so. I just need to play it cool and find out what that is.

The only thing that he doesn't know is that I already _knew _that he is the true leader of Team Rocket. That is the secret advantage I hold over him.

"What brings you here, Mr Gym Leader?" I asked in a tone that conveys the message that I am only slightly curious. Since my official identity is those of a normal civilian, I have to act like one. Most civilians don't really care much about what goes on in the trainer community. Sure, they idolise their cities' Gym Leader and they go wild during the annual Pokemon League Tournament held in the region, but that is about it.

"Just making my usual rounds around my city." He replied as he took a seat beside me as if we are best buds. His powerful looking marowak stood beside our bench on Giovanni's side like his personal knight. "As Viridian City's Gym Leader, it is my duty to protect this city at all costs and ensure that my people are safe."

_Yeah, and also corrupt the city from within as the leader of Team Rocket._

I purposely made a motion of looking around.

"For you to make your rounds in this cold weather, you really are dedicated to your cause, Sir."

"Call me Giovanni." He laughed goodnaturedly. If I don't have my foreknowledge, I wouldn't even suspect he could be affiliated with Team Rocket with how he is acting around me. That's just how good his acting is.

Giovanni took a look at houndoom.

"Your houndoom looks really well trained. You a trainer? I think I would have remembered you and your houndoom if that is the case."

"Nah, I'm an IT consultant." I tenderly patted houndoom on his head while trying to think of a cover story of why a normal civilian without a pokedex has such an obviously well-trained pokemon in my possession. There's no way I can fool the eyes of a Gym Leader and I'm not supposed to know that Giovanni is the leader of Team Rocket. I need a plausible story that he will eat up without question even if I know it is for naught, but I need to at least put on a show in front of Giovanni.

Because if my hunch is right, this unexpected meeting is probably a test of some sort. Why else would he 'bump' into me in a public area using the identity of Gym Leader of Viridian?

A story with half-truths mixed in a bag of lies then. Those always made the most convincing stories.

"His trainer used to be a good friend of mine. After she died, I decided to look after him in her stead. In fact, the other guy belonged to her too."

On cue, gengar emerged partially from my shadows and waved a paw at Giovanni, who put on a surprised look. It might fool a civilian, but not me. As the strongest Gym Leader of Kanto, there's no way he couldn't tell that there is a ghost residing in my shadows. I might as well pretend to be courteous.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did your friend…"

"Her death was partly my fault." I admitted. I don't know for sure why Giovanni is doing this, but I'm willing to bet that he had at least researched about my past before approaching me like that, that includes my history with Jane. It's no secret that we used to be very close to each other and we were partners. Of course he will be curious to hear about my opinion of her, to hear it from the one who killed his best friend while he acts as a supposedly unrelated third party.

There's also no way this meeting is a coincidence. He is a _Gym Leader_. He is a very busy person whose time is better spent elsewhere than talking to a normal civilian. There's no use hiding anything from him, so I might as well tell him half-truths and hope he buys it.

"I did tell you that I am an IT consultant, right?" Giovanni nodded, so I continued. "After my friend retired from being a trainer, she joined me in the company which I am working at. So, one day, I found out that she has been selling company secrets. I tried to persuade her not to do it, even turned a blind eye a few times because she was my best friend. Obviously, it didn't work."

Houndoom let out a rumble from his throat. I patted him with my free hand as my subtle reminder to him.

_Not now. The time will come, but not now._

"So, I tried to do the right thing. I ratted on her." I continue to lick on my ice cream, surprising even myself for how _calm _I am right now. "She got found out, obviously. What I wasn't counting on is for her to take her own life because she was too ashamed of her actions. I never expected that. Never wanted that to happen. All I wanted was for her to stop going down the wrong path and start anew."

"Must have been hard."

_Wouldn't have been if your Team Rocket never existed in the first place._

"It is." I continued and took a look at houndoom who is resting by my feet. "Took me a while to get these guys to forgive me, but I think they understand where I was coming from. In any case, we live together now. The past is in the past. I think she would want me to move on."

Giovanni did a low hum.

"I take it that your friend was a very forgiving person."

"We were close. Very close." I sighed. "If only she had done the right thing, who knows where we would be right now?"

"You are a good man."

"I think I would beg to differ, but if you say so."

"You look like you would make a good trainer. Why did you not apply to be one?"

I gave him the impression of questioning doubt.

"And you can tell if someone would make a great trainer just from a single look? I know you are a Gym Leader, but surely that does not make you a seer?"

Giovanni burst out laughing.

"You are right. It is presumptuous of me to judge a book by their cover."

His laughter died down before he continued speaking.

"What do you think about the topic of the ban? The one that is all over the news right now."

He asked me for _my _thoughts when he was the one who sent me to Senator Langley to bring up the whole mess in the first place?

"That?" I pretended to give a thoughtful hum. "I honestly have no clue. I'm just a regular IT consultant, what would I know about economics? What do you think, Si- Giovanni?"

Giovanni leaned forward a little from where he is sitting beside me, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Just between you and I. As a Kantonian, I believe that Kanto are entitled to her own rights." His look then turned a little more serious. Right now, I think that Giovanni is showing a little of his true self. "If you look a little deeper in Indigo's history, specifically the conflicts between Kanto and Johto, you would find that Kanto had always been the oppressed region. Johto prospered to where they are now because they profited at the expense of Kanto. It's the ugly truth behind Indigo that the Government is always trying to cover up."

I gave a horrified look, although on the inside, I really couldn't be bothered to give a flying shit. I don't have any identity. I don't know where I am from. I don't even know who I truly am. I don't belong anywhere so things like nationalistic pride is totally lost on me.

"That's… not something I would expect to hear from a Gym Leader. No offense."

"None taken." Giovanni waved it off like the benevolent Gym Leader he is acting to be. "Despite my opinions of the Indigo Government and Johto, I am still a Gym Leader of the Indigo League. I will heed the call of the League to defend Indigo as I am expected to, because it is my duty to do so. However, I think it is not wrong for me to think of myself more as a Kantonian. No one ever identifies themselves as a citizen of Indigo anyway. It's always either I am a Kantonian and you are a Johtonian or the other way around. I think I'm entitled to think this way because Kanto is my homeland, not Johto."

I let a brief period of silence fell upon the both of us before giving my reply.

"You aren't wrong. I think that way too."

That part is a lie, because I never knew where I was from because I was a homeless orphan. I have no real ties to any place.

However, Giovanni probably knows me as a native of Viridian, similar to him, thanks to the identity the Government had crafted for me before I became a Rocket. My gut instinct is telling me that **_this _**is the answer that Giovanni wants to hear.

It's time to gamble.

"I'm glad that I found a like minded individual." I see a grin slowly forming on his face and I knew that my gut instinct was right. My gamble paid off. "Speaking of which, I need an IT expert to work for me in my gym, just to ensure that all the high tech stuff runs smoothly and all that. The previous one that worked for me just resigned. You interested?"

Is this what I think it is?

"Sorry, but I think I will pass. I love my current job as it is. I think there is a purpose for me being there."

_My only purpose there is to destroy your fruits of labour and bring you down. Everything you love, everything you care about, I will exterminate it._

"Ah, a pity." Giovanni lamented as he stood up and dusted the snow that accumulated on his coat. "I guess I will have to continue my search for one. I'm sure that a good man like you will undoubtedly go far in your career no matter what path you choose. Do me a favour and drop by my gym for a visit if you ever have a person in mind, okay?"

"Sure thing." I replied with an eye smile. "Have a nice day, Mr Gym Leader. Thank you for protecting the city."

Giovanni adjusted the fedora he wore on the top of his head, tipping it a little in my direction.

"You are very much welcomed. It has been a pleasure to speak with you, good sir. Enjoy your evening."

With that, Giovanni walked off with his marowak beside him. After I watched him disappear into the night, I let a faint smile rest on my face as I finished up my ice cream. There is no more doubt in my mind.

Giovanni approached me because he is considering in giving me a promotion to be one of his trusted Executives. This meeting is probably a test and I think I just passed with flying colours without raising any suspicions on his end. Not only that, I think I just caught a glimpse of Giovanni's true intentions during our conversation earlier. Our conversation gave me clues as to which direction I should continue in my investigation of Team Rocket.

I stood up and walked in the opposite direction which Giovanni had left, houndoom and gengar following me. We have much to prepare.

The fated time is approaching soon.

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Elite Officer Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Elite Officer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon, (Nosy), genderless**


	11. Chapter 10- Dark Specialist

The signs of change are all there. It's not just in Kanto. Not just Johto. It's not just the Indigo.

It's like the entire world is changing all of a sudden. Just look at what all the news reporters are saying on TV.

_"Team Aqua launched-"_

_"-Lilycove Invasion-"_

_"Death toll is estimated-"_

_"Bodies are **still **being found-"_

_"Why did the Thirteen Pillars not-"_

_"ACE forces arrived only-"_

_"What about Team Magma?"_

Team Aqua. Just yesterday, Team Aqua from the Hoenn region had just done one of the biggest siege ever conducted on a city in recent history. They launched a full scale attack on Lilycove without seemingly any reason at all. Every news channel I tuned into is talking about it.

The whole **_world _**is talking about it.

It is also the only thing the Rocket members are talking about. I walked into the lounge in the Celadon hideout only to find members resting there talking about it, the TV there turned on and the reporter on the news channel _still _reporting on the Lilycove Invasion. The Rockets in the lounge were debating if our organisation are going to do something like what Team Aqua did because we are _Team Rocket_, because we are the biggest terrorist organisation in the world and there's no way we should let some small time wannabe terrorists from another region upstage us.

Team Aqua had just sparked a worldwide fever for terrorists around the globe to try and emulate them, because if _they _did it, so can anyone else.

The world will soon be plunged into chaos if nothing is done soon.

Unsurprisingly, the default reaction of the various regional governments worldwide is to order a lockdown on their borders and to put in place emergency measures, stepping up security at wherever is needed and conducting more stringent checks. The paranoia is feeding on itself in an endless cycle. Measures that were previously considered a hard handed approach and infringe on privacy is now allowed in the name of security.

It reminds me a little of the aftermath of the 9/11 incident in my previous world. I don't have much recollection of it, but I think the exact same thing was what happened.

Team Rocket is now forced to lie low for the moment. All of our businesses, legal or not, are now being conducted very carefully. This would have been a good time to strike, to bring down Team Rocket if only I had concrete and indisputable proof that Giovanni is the true leader of Team Rocket.

Unfortunately, I don't, so I can only continue to wait.

I could opt to just reveal everything I know about Team Rocket right now and that alone can deal a lot of damage onto the organisation. So much damage that Team Rocket will never recover, but that is not what I am aiming for. Team Rocket is like a stubborn weed. If you don't uproot it immediately, it will simply grow again and be reborn anew.

I'm not giving it even a chance to rise again. I want to see Team Rocket _gone_. **_Exterminated._**

For that to happen, Giovanni must go. He must be dead.

I'm an Elite Officer, so naturally some of the bolder grunts approached me and asked if we would be attempting something similar to what Team Aqua did. I simply gave some vague answers because there had been no instructions from the Executives. I cannot just assume. Heck, even the President is silent and had not been giving me orders or asking for updates. He must be currently too busy to care about me.

However, I'm willing to bet that the Lilycove Invasion is also everything the Executives are talking about right now. Team Rocket has the ability to easily take over an entire city if it ever so chooses. Doing something even bigger than the Lilycove Invasion is definitely possible.

It's just a matter of whether there is a benefit in them doing so.

"Elite Officer Plague."

The time eventually came about two weeks later, not long after Team Aqua and Team Magma were almost entirely eradicated by the Hoenn League in vindictive revenge. Weird how the Hoenn League didn't do this sooner when they obviously had the capability to search and destroy them long ago, but who am I to ask?

I have too much to handle as it already is. Another new mission.

"This is your new assignment." Executive Archer, the one in charge of the Celadon hideout, passed to me a folder. I opened it up to read the mission details and my heart dropped.

My worst fears came true.

"Sir, this…"

Archer gave me a grin, one that I will make sure to wipe it off his face someday.

"The time is right. Strike fear into the Indigo, Plague. Make people fear us. It's time for Team Rocket to remind the world who we are again. We need you, our Exterminator."

* * *

Johto National Park.

The Johto National Park's Bug Catching Contest.

That is the location of the next big performance that we will be putting up. This is not a raid. This is not a mission that conducts petty stealing or shady dealings. Archer said that the leader wants us out in the open to make a statement, proving that the Indigo is inept at protecting its citizens.

Given what little I know about Giovanni after our little heart-to-heart talk, he chose the location to be in _Johto _for a reason. He has something against Johto and I will find out _what _that is.

The National Park's Bug Catching Contest is a big event that attracts locals and tourists alike, held once every single month, once everyday for the duration of a week. Depending on the season, the variety of bug type pokemon one can find there can greatly differ.

Which also translates as a prime location for a terrorist attack if all they want is to rack up the body count. Lesson learnt from this experience is to never attend such events if I ever have the chance to live a normal life. My life is short enough as it is.

I had immediately informed the President about this attack the moment I had the chance, but given that the scheduled date of attack is just a mere two days after I was given the task by Executive Archer to bomb the National Park and capture/steal any pokemon we can find there, there is no way we can cancel the high profile week-long event in time without raising some serious questions. Doing so will also raise suspicions and Team Rocket will know for certain that there is a mole in their upper ranks.

The only choice left is to make sure that there will be STAR and Ranger forces who 'happened' to be stationed nearby and will be ready to be mobilised at a moment's notice. A large number of cops will already be there thanks to the ongoing contest, so all the President needs to do is to somehow ensure that there will 'somehow' be more manpower there that day.

I surmised that if Team Rocket's main objective for this mission is to make a statement, then all we need to do is to incite fear. Fear can be incited through many other ways other than senseless killings. In fact, not killing everyone may be more effective. I would just make this a **_very _**terrifying experience for everyone unlucky enough to be at the park that day and they would automatically spread the word for us when they escape back home with their lives intact, telling stories on how efficient and terrifying Team Rocket can be, that Team Aqua has _nothing _on us. I would make sure that the exit out of the park is accessible for them, but not overly so that it might raise suspicions from my Rocket superiors on my end. I have to make my reasoning sound logical and convincing to them while fulfilling my duties as a spy whose true interest is to protect Indigo.

Another absolutely difficult situation thrown at my face, but what's new? It's always mission impossible for me.

This arrangement is the only way I can think of to keep the casualties to a minimum. I will try my best on my end too without raising suspicions from the Executives and also from Giovanni, but what I can do is limited if I want to keep my cover.

I had really tried my best. _I really did_. Even then, there will be many who will die that day, there is no changing that. No matter what I do, the death toll will be high. Blood will stain my hands red once more because the Rocket's Executioner is needed for the job.

_It's all for the greater good._

The President had ordered me to keep my cover at all costs. At this point, I am inclined to agree because I am so close to getting the evidence that I need. I will just accept whatever punishment is meted out to me to atone for my sins when it's finally time for me to go to hell.

Infiltrating the National Park was simple. All of the members involved simply waltzed in there with their casual clothes, wearing their Rocket uniform underneath and hidden from view until the time came. I myself had been sitting on a bench in the middle of the park for the past hour, watching people come and go and watching the disguised Rocket members discreetly moving to their respective positions for the big display later.

I really hope that the STAR and Ranger forces the President promised me can make it in time. Deaths will be unavoidable today, but I would like to keep the deaths of innocents to as low as possible.

Although from what I can see thus far, the President had already _failed _to get more cops here like he had promised. Bastard probably has another excuse for not doing so, and then justify it by saying that _'It's all for the greater good'._

Motherfucker.

"Not a lot of youngsters like to come to the park nowadays to simply hear the bugs sing for us." An elderly man with white hair and mustache combined with a beer belly commented as we shared the bench, listening to the melody sung by the various wild bug types hidden by the tall ground around us. We had been conversing with each other for the past fifteen minutes when he took a seat here to rest his weary legs.

If only he knew that I am a Rocket and what I am about to do today.

"For that to happen, it must be peaceful here."

"That it is!" The old man cackled as an aipom scampered around us in a playful manner. "You not interested in the contest? Youngsters like you always flock there to look for a scyther or a heracross!"

"No. Not really." I said as I watched the clouds floating lazily in the sky. "Not a fan of bugs."

"Not many are." The old man chuckled as he fed the aipom a few treats from the palm of his hand. "But that doesn't stop us from appreciating the songs they sing for us. It's beautiful, how pokemon and humans can coexist with each other if we put our hearts into it. Pokemon are such wonderful creatures, are they not?"

My hand went down and patted houndoom on the head, who is napping beside my feet. I can feel gengar in my shadows, also enjoying this brief moment of normalcy and peace. A small smile graced my lips.

"They are. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve them. Maybe I really don't."

"Cheer up, laddie!" The old man gave a loud pat on my shoulder and did some weird actions. "If today's the worst day of your life, then tomorrow can only get better! Come on, give me a smile!"

I cannot help but choke out a laugh at his hilarious actions.

"There, better?" The old man laughed heartily as he patted his bulging beer belly.

"A little." I admitted before looking up at the clouds again.

"A storm is coming. You better get going if you don't want to get caught in it. It's going to be huge."

"Eh?" The old man squinted his eyes as he looked up into the bright sky. "But-"

"Trust me, I work at the weather forecast department. You really need to get home now."

"Well, if you say so. Who am I to dismiss the words of a pro? I for one don't fancy the rain, don't go well with my poor old joints." The old man laughed heartily again and whistled for his aipom, who scampered back and immediately climbed onto his shoulder. "See you, lad! I hope whatever is troubling you goes away soon!"

"Thank you." I replied sincerely with a small smile on my face. At least this kind old man will live. One less life weighing down on my conscience. There is still fifteen minutes left, more than enough time for him to get out of here.

Even if it is just one, if I can reduce the body count by just _one _without blowing my cover, I will do whatever it takes to do so. Like this, I can sleep slightly better at night. Like this, I can increase my chance, even if it's just a little, to join Jane in heaven when it is time for me to go.

We are supposed to be a band. The Twin Js. For that to happen, we must be together, not separated by heaven and hell.

Silence returned after the old man hobbled off. Houndoom lazily jumped onto the unoccupied section of the bench and rest his head on my lap, giving me some comfort. The only sounds left are the unseen bug types singing away happily, putting up a free concert for us. That beautiful sounds will leave me soon.

"I can never get used to this. I wonder if this is a blessing or a curse."

Blessing because it means I still have a conscience somewhere deep in my muddled heart. Curse because what I had done will forever weigh on me even after I'm long gone.

Houndoom lifted his head and licked my cheek, trying to lift my spirits up.

"Thanks, bud."

The smartwatch on my wrist has a countdown timer ticking. The moment it hits zero, someone contacted me through the comms and the wireless earpiece that I am wearing crackled to life.

"Sir. We are all in position."

I look up to see the huge number of people gathered at the plaza not far from where I am, many of them are participants and spectators of the Bug Catching Contest. The organiser is now giving out the prizes to the Top 3 winners. The large number of people gathered there right now is the only reason why we had been waiting for this exact moment. It is to make sure that our attack will rack up a huge enough body count, so that we can make an effective statement.

_Team Rocket is still here, watching you, and the Indigo cannot protect you_

I silently sucked in a breath before giving my command.

_It's all for the greater good._

I really hope this is the case.

"Do it."

* * *

Chaos. That's the only thing I see around me.

I am technically not needed here. I'm just here to supervise the entire operation and ensure that it goes smoothly since I was the one in charge of planning this whole attack. There are a few objectives Team Rocket wants to achieve in this attack on the National Park.

One, capture any wild pokemon found in the park. Two, steal any pokemon you can from any trainers you find along the way. Three, remind the world why Team Rocket is still the strongest underground power in Indigo

Objective #3 is the main priority for this attack. Hence, everything must be flashy. There must be wanton destruction. People must die. Everything must look horrifying on camera when the media arrives after this is all over. It must be picture perfect.

Bombs are the best and easiest way to do so. Sometimes, we don't even need to make them. Unstable geodudes and voltorbs did the trick and geodudes multiply by the dozen, they are easy to breed. If we need something with more _oomfph_, there's always gravelers and electrodes. Sometimes we may even use golems.

We had planted a lot of them at various spots of the National Park prior to the start of the attack. The cops and the Rangers patrolling the area had missed them because gengar was going around tricking their minds with Hypnosis while the grunts were doing the manual job.

I simply stood hidden at an untouched corner of the park, watching everything unfold as zoroark hid me, houndoom, and exeggutor with a cloak of illusion. If all goes well, I would not need to physically do anything, which is a good thing for the innocents.

People die the moment the Exterminator has to be called upon, so it's best if the Exterminator need not be called upon in the first place.

"Ah, shit."

I swore under my breath when a Flying Specialist somehow managed to quickly organise a counterattack with whatever trainers there are in the plaza. Then right after, she and her flying types literally _carpet-bombed_ the entire area where a sizable group of my men were at.

She's too strong for anyone else assigned on this mission to handle. At this rate, I will definitely have to be called upon. Great, there goes my daydream of things going right for once. If I don't want to act, I might have to sound the retreat earlier than expected. I better use this short period of time to think of a convincing excuse that can fool Archer.

I facepalmed in resignation when I spotted a familiar looking aerodactyl taking down my men left and right, flying beside the Flying Specialist who is taking a ride on her pidgeot.

_Must _be that Ranger I met when I poached the mamoswine. She really lived through our previous encounter? What a small world.

_"Sir! The Flying Spe-"_

"Stop relying on me for everything. She's not even that strong, use your own head and figure it out."

I cut off whoever had requested my help. Hopefully with this, I can delay my appearance for as long as possible. I don't want to kill such a skilled and courageous trainer, it will be a pity.

The trainer who I am now certain was that Ranger I met back at Cherrygrove a few months ago dove in and out of the battlefield, saving as many as she can. If it wasn't for her, the death toll will definitely be a lot higher. Such courage and bravery are rare to find now. With each passing second, I find myself more and more reluctant to act because I am impressed by her selfless actions.

But with each passing second, it also became more and more obvious that I _have _to act if I want to maintain my cover.

My only consolation is that the device at the corner of the park that is supposed to block any electrical signals to go in or out of here had been secretly destroyed by an 'unknown individual' _(which is actually my gengar)_ the moment the attack started. With this, there will definitely be someone out there who will call for help from STAR, the cops, or Rangers, whatever. At least there will be someone to save them. This is all I can do on my end.

Assuming that the President really did make sure that STAR and Rangers forces 'happened' to be stationed nearby. The amount of trust I have in him is as far as I can throw a mountain, which isn't really much. Bastard always screw my plans somehow.

In that case, I will screw my plans right back on track. Enough destruction had been caused to keep Team Rocket very happy while also low enough for Indigo's sake. Like it or not, this is the best balance I can strike right now.

I spoke to my direct subordinate through the comms. At least the Rocket's Exterminator didn't have to act. _Something _actually went right for once. _What a **miracle**._

"Rainer, sound the retreat. We've accomplished what we came here to do. Make sure our stolen goods get back to base undetected and untracked. League forces will be arriving soon. **_No Rocket left behind must be alive_**. Either they escape alive or they stay dead here or we are all screwed when the League's psychics pick their minds to locate our base of operations. Should be a good enough incentive for the morons to double up and move. Make sure you do a thorough job, or _your _head will be the first to go."

_"Roger that, Sir."_

A faction of Team Rocket's Psychic Team that specialises solely in swift transport and fast retrieval began to rapidly teleport any Rockets that are still alive out of the park. Unfortunately, I know I _have _to act when the Ranger's crobat prevented a small group of my men from teleporting away with Mean Look. I cannot let them be captured alive. I cannot let _any _Team Rocket members be captured alive. Either they retreat safely with their lives intact or they remain here dead. It is still too early for anyone else not in the loop to learn more about Team Rocket. The timing is still premature.

And here I thought that I was having a good day, that _something _actually went right for _once_. I should have known that was too good to be true.

I have to act. My plans cannot be foiled.

"Exeggutor."

In the blink of an eye, I now stood on the battlefield facing the Ranger, who is looking down at me from where she is soaring with her flying types, the sun rays shining from behind her and casting a shadow on me. I looked up with my hands in my pockets, my face largely covered by the high collar shirt and large breton cap that I usually wear. My attire is slightly different from the usual Rocket grunts, a privilege for being an Elite Officer within the organisation. I stood in front of my fallen men, preventing the Ranger from arresting them.

"Rainer, hasten the retreat. I'm **_not _**accepting any objections."

_"Roger that, Sir. And you?"_

I looked back up in the sky at my 'fated' enemy. Seriously, what a coincidence.

There won't be anymore coincidences after I'm done with her. I need to make sure that the Rockets behind me that are still trying to retreat are able to make it out safely. As the organisation's Exterminator, this is my job. Team Rocket cannot suffer heavy losses from this operation if I want to maintain my cover and advance my own plans.

I'll apologise to the Ranger in the afterlife.

"I'll secure your retreat and clean up any mess left behind. Just hurry."

_"Copy that. I'll pull the guys out ASAP. Good luck, Sir. For the glory of Team Rocket."_

"For the glory of Team Rocket."

The Ranger and I stared at each other for a few seconds, assessing each other. I saw her eyes widened in realisation when she spotted houndoom beside me, fangs bared and snarling. There's no way she is going to forget about him when he had made such an impression on her by taking out her entire team alone.

Or at least that was how she saw it when under the influence of zoroark's illusionary capabilities. Zoroark had already gone into hiding, spreading a large blanket of illusion to hide the area we are at from view. Exeggutor is beside me, but there's no way the Ranger and her pokemon can see exeggutor because of zoroark's illusion at work.

All she can see now are me and houndoom. In actuality, I have more than just one pokemon fighting for me right now. She's fighting _three _instead of one.

Her team immediately dashed off and spread themselves out just as houndoom fired a Dark Pulse. She does display good judgements in battles, but still not good enough. A pity that I have no choice but to kill her today. She had forced my hand because she is too good in what she does.

An assortment of attacks bombarded us on all sides as her flying types streaked across the sky above us. It didn't hurt us at all thanks to the Light Screen and Reflect combo exeggutor had put up, placing us in an impenetrable barrier that keeps us safe. Of course, the only thing the Ranger will be seeing is how houndoom had somehow impossibly set up a barrier around us when his species is incapable of such a feat. She still doesn't know of exeggutor's presence right beside me. She won't know unless zoroark allows her to see him, which is never. She will never know unless she realise that there is a zoroark hiding himself under layers after layers of illusion.

Like I said, it's three instead of one. How we made her believe that she is only fighting one pokemon is because of our impeccable teamwork. Everything in our teamwork must be flawless, from the exact movement to the timing itself. Even the details must be _perfect _so that our secret to victory will never be uncovered. The moment when our secret is found out is when we had lost.

Dark types never fight fair. As a Dark Specialist, I must embody that very statement. A true Dark Specialist absolutely abhors the League regulated battles, because in those battles we are never allowed to fight fair. Rules never work in our favour, rules are our greatest enemy. That's why so few skilled Dark Specialists would choose to work with the League, because their rules never allow them to use their full strength.

But I'm a villain. Rules don't apply to me. Fighting dirty is what I do best because it is how I crawled my way to survival thus far. I'm no Gym Leader. A Dark Specialist will never have the kind of firepower that other Specialists boast because most dark types are born weak.

I'm not strong, but I'm **_dangerous_**. There's a difference between the two. That's why I'm one of the best Dark Specialists currently walking around in Kanto. I would know, I abused my double agent status and checked every single records the League has on _every _notable Dark Specialist in their history, living or dead. It doesn't matter if these people are the League's enemies or their allies. All I need is to learn from these records, whatever information that is available about them. Videos of their battles, preserved handwritten training notes, types of pokemon used, _how _they were used, _how _they were finally taken down. Everything and anything about how to handle and use dark types, I devoured them just so that I can survive and crawl my way up in this hell that is my reality.

As I soon realised, all of the truly skilled Dark Specialists share the same common trait. It's all in the realisation and mindset of what a Dark Specialist should really be.

To be a true Dark Specialist is to be **_dangerous_**, not powerful. It was through cheating, lying, fooling, tricking, and using all the dirty little tricks in our little bag that we win our battles. I had to do _whatever it takes _to learn all I can on how to be a true Dark Specialist, just so that I can stand here today as a one man army.

Yes, army. I don't need a super soldier with the strength of a thousand. I just need an effective and flawless army made up of weak soldiers.

I don't need a pokemon that is strong enough to take down a group of trainers by itself. I simply need an effective pokemon team whose teamwork can topple nations. Dark types are renowned for their impeccable teamwork. You can see it from how they behave in the wild, how they hunt their prey. Individually, they are too weak, but together, they are crazily **_dangerous_**.

Dark types never fight alone. To be a true Dark Specialist you need to understand this very concept. You need to understand the three basic concepts of 'weak', 'unfairness', and 'teamwork'. You need to first recognise and accept the fact that you are weak, only then can you accept that you _have _to fight unfairly to win, to realise that if you cannot win a fight alone, you _have _to be a part of a highly effective team to reach your own goals. It is why dark types in the wild tend to live in packs, not alone. Only a few species have the required strength to survive alone.

If you don't have this mindset, then _no matter how hard you try_, you can never be a true Dark Specialist. Oh sure, they are plenty _"Dark Specialists_" running around in the world, but they are just _phonies_._ Truly skilled _Dark Specialists are _rare _in any League because you need a twisted kind of mindset to be one. _Karen, Sidney, Grimsley._ In the entire Pokemon World League, among their numerous Thirteen Pillars right now, only **_three _**Dark Specialists qualify to sit in their ranks. There is a good reason why this is the case, a reason very few ever thought to think about.

It is easy to be a dark type trainer, but not everyone has the right to call themselves a Dark Specialist. The value of the word 'Specialist' had been greatly undervalued because _everyone _is using it, thinking that they are an expert in their fields simply by having many pokemon of a similar typing in their team.

Morons.

Anyone who calls themselves a Dark Specialist simply because they have a team of dark types are an embarrassment to our title. They always try to compensate for their firepower by adding the typical tyranitar or hydreigon. Sure, it helps to have a pokemon like that on your team, but if you cannot make such overly powerful and prideful pokemon to _work as a team_ with your other dark types, then what's the point?

Ever wonder why even the likes of Karen, Sidney, and Grimsley hesitated on adding a pokemon like a tyranitar or a hydreigon to their team? Even when they are also dark types and possess the overwhelming firepower that many other dark types lack? This is the answer.

To date, I believed only Grimsley among the three mentioned trainers got around to make one of these prideful creatures to work flawlessly with his own team. Pride kills teamwork. To work well in a team you need to first remove your own sense of pride. The stronger species of pokemon have too much pride to truly work well in a team. They tend to be solo players, so adding them in might be detrimental instead. The team would do better without them.

Besides, why would Karen and Sidney need one of these monsters when their own team is easily more dangerous than a hundred of them combined? That's how dangerous their team of dark types are. They are also people who I had secretly learnt from when I used the Indigo's resources for my own ends, especially Karen. I had learnt a lot simply by watching all of her battles that were recorded on video, the ones that are not shown in public because she was training alone in a League facility where her team of dark types simply go crazy as one. Their teamwork is awesome.

Many times, I had fantasized that if Jane and I were ordinary trainers, without our circumstances weighing on us and simply going about on our journey, I would probably be the cranky trainer beating up any dark type trainers I can see. Simply because they had the audacity to _claim _that they are Dark **_Specialists_**. Jane would probably be the saner one, trying to hold me back and apologise on my behalf to those fools who had their asses beaten and she would pull on my ear and scold me after everything is said and done. I would tell her to stop it. She would say that she's not accepting any objections and continue to tell me off. The cycle would repeat endlessly.

Unfortunately, that would never happen. I killed that dream with my own two hands.

The 'upright' upbringing most trainers had will never allow them to fully understand the three basic concepts, and people wonder _why _most Dark Specialists ended up as _villains_. It's because their discriminatory rules rejected us in the first place. To force us to fight fair is akin to killing us even before the battle began. There is no true place for a Dark Specialist in an upright organisation like the Pokemon League. Jane gave her life for me so that I can earn Team Rocket's trust to be their Exterminator, but understanding dark types and their very nature was how I earned my power to truly be a good one. Team Rocket has no place for the weak. Only with power can change arrive.

Power I earned by learning from dark types. I learnt many things about life simply by observing them. I love how fitting it is for me to be a trainer of dark type pokemon. An effective army of dark type pokemon no matter how weak and broken we individually are.

Together, we are **_dangerous_**.

And fighting dirty proved to be effective. The Ranger is obviously freaking out at how houndoom did the impossible. She doesn't know that houndoom and I aren't alone, that we are playing dirty, that there will always be someone from my team backing us up from some unseen corner, waiting for the right time to strike. Fighting fair is going to be her downfall.

Taking advantage of the Ranger's confusion, I softly commanded houndoom.

"Inferno."

It will be a quick way to die. The pain won't last long. The Ranger's masquerain had set up a Water Sport upon seeing my houndoom but honestly, a Water Sport on that level might as well be useless. Maybe she just caught it? It does seem relatively untrained compared to the rest of her team. It doesn't even feel like it is part of the team.

There's no teamwork. Zero.

Unexpectedly, the Ranger decided to fight fire by making it bigger.

"Hurricane!"

A raging hurricane blew and forced the flames to spread back in my direction instead. I cannot help but mentally applaud her for her quick thinking to use my own move against me. Furthermore, her flying types are carefully flying way out of our physical reach, keeping us at a distance. It seems that they had learned from their previous encounter with us.

However, she still didn't learn _enough _from our previous encounter. She shouldn't have allowed the wall of flames to obscure her view of us, like how houndoom's Smog did the last time.

"Exeggutor. Time for our magic trick."

Since I'm sure that the effect of crobat's Mean Look had worn off, Exeggutor swiftly teleported the fallen grunts around us away to our Ecruteak hideout before shifting our positions to be behind the Ranger, out of sight.

Seeing that she thinks that I am still behind that wall of flames, I let hydreigon out and climbed onto his back. Weavile had also been released as he made himself unseen by hiding himself from view using hydriegon's thick fur and large body, riding on hydreigon beside me and always ready for a sneak attack like the troublemaker he is.

Even through all the chaos, the entire series of actions only took two seconds at the most. An action so ingrained in us by practicing our teamwork over and over again until we can no longer stand.

Hydreigon took off into the air with exeggutor directly below us, exeggutor is still out of sight thanks to zoroark's work.

"Finish the dragonite."

The Ranger's dragonite had proved to be a threat during both encounters, it must be taken out.

Hydreigon immediately blasted powerful beams of various attacks onto the dragonite, catching it by surprise. Our sneak attack had made the Ranger and her pokemon panic a little from what I can see from their expressions. However, the dragonite didn't fall.

Then what about this? It's time I return the favour from our previous encounter at Cherrygrove. I should let her have a taste of her own medicine for what she did to me before.

"Draco Meteor."

If she's lucky, she will still have a complete body left to bury.

I saw her flying types congregating around her, who is still riding on the pidgeot, and collectively flew to the ground to regroup. I saw a huge dome of Protect erected around them and I know this is going to be a long battle. There's no doubt that I can win, but it's going to be troublesome with how defensive she is playing this.

Maybe I really should get going by now seeing that all live Rockets are gone, leaving only the dead ones, but I'm starting to enjoy our little battle. It's been a long time since I can really enjoy one and simply cut loose.

An unexpected huge blast of Thunder that came crashing down from the skies would have done me in if it wasn't for exeggutor maintaining a constant shield of Light Screen and Reflect around us, only becoming visible when struck. Our teamwork saved our lives once again. See? This is what a team trained by a Dark Specialist can do.

Hydreigon roared a deafening cry upon seeing that attack, and I knew that he must have gave in to his bloodlust again.

I sighed as weavile cackled in amusement. Here we go again. There's no controlling hydreigon now that he is like this. He is going to rip apart our foes limb from limb and now no one will be able to stop him. Our teamwork will have to revolve around him now, like how we practiced many times before.

The girl will end up as food in his belly. What a sad way to die.

_'Master Jayce? I sense incoming trainers and the trickster had also spotted them converging onto our location. I believe them to be extremely skilled. The trickster had identified one of them to be a Gym Leader from the list of high profile threats you had us memorised. Target #9.'_

Gym Leader? Target #9? Must be Falkner. Violet City is not far from here after all.

I clicked my tongue as I try to see if I can use this unforeseen development to my advantage. Maybe…

If all goes well. Hurrah. Executive in no time. My plans can finally advance to their final stages. If not, it's either indefinite jail time or death by birds for me. To do or not to do?

It's obvious which course of action will be my choice.

_'Have zoroark make his illusion discoverable, but don't make it too obvious. They cannot find out that it is on purpose. I have a plan. It's time to pull our joker card. Have zoroark feign defeat when caught, the League trainers tend to not give their finishing blow when their opponents are already down because of their sense of honour. Watch out for him, pull him out if it gets too dangerous. We will beat it right away if that is the case.'_

_'Your wish is my command.'_

Hydreigon began to fire his own bombardment of attacks from his three heads as he charged recklessly into the fray, uncaring about anything else. The dragonite used this chance to finally engage us in close quarter combat by meeting us in a Dragon Rush. There is a gust of wind blowing in their favour, which I recognise to be an effect of Tailwind. The aerodactyl which used to be my victim flew up into the air before diving down at us with a Double-Edge.

Can't let that happen now.

"Your turn now, you troublemaker."

Weavile leapt off with a cackle as he met aerodactyl's charge midair with an Ice Punch, sending the aerodactyl away from us. An Air Cutter was fired at weavile by one of the flying types, but hydreigon still have enough sense of reason to protect weavile by intercepting it with a Dark Pulse. Even if my mentally unstable hydreigon didn't do so, exeggutor will immediately pick up the slack to do what he cannot.

**_This_**, is what I call **_teamwork_**. Not like how the Ranger's stupid flying types are flying around in stupid formations. That's just looking pretty. The formations are not even useful in fighting against us. At least bring up a challenge.

I gave a specific hand signal to weavile, and he immediately blew up a massive Blizzard that got all the flying types around us to keep their distance. Weavile had been using Nasty Plot to power up while he was riding on hydreigon's back with me. He hasn't been slacking around doing nothing.

_'Master Jayce. The trickster had successfully fooled his captors that he had been compromised and subdued. I think he is happy that he finally has the chance to slack about.'_

I focused on the mental link I have with exeggutor as I sent him my reply.

_'Make sure he hides you from view while doing that. You cannot be seen.'_

_'He did. I am currently transparent as you can see, or couldn't see. I will be very surprised if you can see me.'_

Exeggutor and his multiple personalities. Sometimes I don't even know which head I'm talking to.

_'Good. Is he alright?'_

_'Unfortunately for me, yes. He says that he can get out of there anytime he wishes. He's just playing along right now until an opportunity presents itself. Also, a firestorm is approaching.'_

A huge vortex of Fire Spin trapped us all in just as exeggutor said that, caging us all in a fiery prison with no way to see what is happening outside. I know the League reinforcements are trying to contain me without killing me. It's because of their so-called high and mighty morals, it's also because they need me alive so that they can track where all my men had disappeared to so that they can launch a counterattack. I'm the last lead they have right now.

This is their first big mistake, and I am going to capitalise on it.

Weavile landed on hydreigon's back, still laughing uncontrollably from the pleasure of punting the aerodactyl back there. The heat from the Fire Spin does not bother him, but I am a little concerned for a different reason. Whatever pokemon that used this Fire Spin is definitely very well-trained. A trainer way stronger that the Ranger had arrived and it is not Falkner, because this is not something he can do. Someone else on top of Falkner had joined the game and we are in for a big battle.

I started to cough uncontrollably, the symptoms of my sickness making themselves known again in an untimely manner. I wordlessly signalled for hydreigon to get on the ground, who is finally sober now that the sudden Fire Spin brought it back out of his mindless rage. I release my entire team, knowing that we will have to go all out to make sure we can escape alive. The only exception is Nosy, who is still dwelling in my smartwatch because that busybody is not a battler. His battles are of a different kind.

Ninetales whined in worry and nudged me gently with her head in concern upon seeing my coughing fit.

"I'm fine." I rasped out as my coughing fit starts to calm down. I pulled up my right sleeve a little, revealing the key stone embedded in a special bracelet that I wear around my wrist.

I heard someone calling Falkner's name on the outside of this wall of fire. I now have confirmation that the Gym Leader had arrived. I need him to be here so that I can pull off my joker card because I need what he has on him. If this gamble worked, there is a high chance that my plans can finally advance to the next stage.

This is no longer something which I can take lightheartedly.

Time to go all out.

"Power yourselves up however you can while we are still safe in here. Nasty Plot, Swords Dance, Curse, whatever you need. We are in for a slugfest against more than one opponent. One of them is a Gym Leader. And exeggutor, please, next time, an _earlier _warning would have been greatly appreciated."

_'I'm offended that you think so little of my defensive capabilities. The Fire Spin didn't even touch us, did it? Did you even feel the heat?'_

"It's a matter of principle." I argued back and took a stance to prepare myself for invoking Mega Evolution. My team is now around me, facing outwards in a defensive circle because we are now undoubtedly surrounded on all sides. I had trained them well in our teamwork. I only need to give my commands when I truly need to and they can immediately adapt to any situation. They have my full trust, they are the only ones who I will ever fully trust in this hell.

You cannot trust humans. Humans always lie. They are worse than pokemon in this aspect.

Houndoom trotted to my side.

Using this power will probably cut my limited lifespan down even further, but I will have to do it to get out of here alive. At least I had put on a convincing enough show to not blow my cover, although I will need to do something more if I want to reach my own personal objective.

I need something that I know only someone like a Thirteen Pillar will certainly possess. I'm about to commit daylight robbery. If I'm lucky, I'm going to have a x2 bonus.

This is going to be fun.

To be honest, this situation may be what I need. This might actually be an opportunity to finally get what I want, to be Executive. I know what I am going to do next, if I succeed, will very likely earn me a promotion.

"At the same time houndoom go mega, use your Flash Fire to suck in the flames." I instructed ninetales while the vortex of fire is still roaring around us, trapping us in. The only thing keeping us safe from it are exeggutor's barriers. "Exeggutor, tell zoroark to use the opportunity from our counterattack to identify and steal any mega stones available. I don't want a Gym Leader to go mega on us and we need those stupid marbles. We need to be able to control the flow of the battle if we want to stay alive. Everyone else, support them and stay alive. Hydreigon, do us a favour and try to stay with us. I won't accept any objections."

Without further ado, I invoke the power of Mega Evolution just as ninetales sucked the Fire Spin in. We made our sudden reappearance as our fiery prison vanished within a second. This is our element of surprise. No one would have seen this coming, because the hydreigon and weavile species are incapable of doing anything to defend me from such an attack. Defending is not their forte. They don't know that zoroark is still conscious and is still hiding exeggutor from view, who is instrumental in defending us from harm.

"Dark Pulse!"

No one was expecting me to go for such a counterattack, as evident from how all the other opposing pokemon that were surrounding us immediately scattered in a surprised manner. My eyes immediately spotted a huge number of fire types and flying types around us. The Ranger from before is now gone. In her place is the Gym Leader of Violet City, staring at me with cold eyes. There is also another Ranger in the sky, riding a charizard. He is obviously the trainer of all the fire types surrounding us right now.

I don't particularly care about the two of them. All I care about are my objective.

"Inferno!"

Mega Houndoom bathed the skies in hellfire that scorched a few of Falkner's flying types. Hydreigon and honchkrow used this opportunity to get into the air. Honchkrow took on a supportive role as she darted around, finding opportunities to pin the targets down for hydreigon to blast indiscriminately with his attacks. Weavile rode on hydreigon's back, attacking mercilessly whenever possible.

Shiftry used his fans to disperse a large ball of fire coming our way as bisharp charged ahead to meet a pyroar in combat, stopping its charge immediately. Drapion fired Toxic Spikes along our perimeter, forcing the fire types on the ground to keep their distance while drapion continues to shoot volleys of needles. She is our walking artillery responsible for providing suppressive fire on our side.

I think I vaguely recognised the unknown Ranger. He is kind of a famous hotshot within the Rangers, a member of the 1st Regiment of the Johto Ranger Force, Pyral Furnes. Someone of his position will most likely possess what I need. His presence is my x2 bonus.

Mega Evolution is not a power they can use lightly as members of the Indigo League, but a criminal like me don't have the same concerns because I am not bound to the same laws as they do. I just use this power whenever I want, whenever I need to, because I never follow the rules.

Furthermore, as a general guideline, only a mega-evolved pokemon can possibly fight on equal footing with another mega-evolved pokemon, assuming that they are approximately on the same level. When Mega Houndoom just made his appearance, I had been waiting to see where Falkner's and Pyral's eyes and hands had gone to on reflex after the surprise I sprung on them. I now know that there are only two pokemon on their side right now with mega stones from how they had reactively looked at their charizard and pidgeot. I saw how their hands had also reactively reached for their key stones hidden on them when Mega Houndoom scorched the skies with his flames.

From that alone, I can tell two things. One, both trainers are capable of using Mega Evolution. Two, only two pokemon on the other side are capable of going through that process, and I now know which two.

_Jackpot._

That information is all I need. Time to pull out our joker card.

Although it seems that zoroark did not need my instructions after all. The little trickster had already stolen the Charizardite Y _somehow _and I had no idea how he did it. That lazy slacker never let me down before, not even once.

"Falkner! Be careful of the zoroark! It-"

It was too late as zoroark leapt off from the ground, already free of his captor's constraints long ago by using a Substitute. Falkner was forced to fly low after a particularly strong Dragon Pulse hydreigon had fired, allowing zoroark to cling himself onto the pidgeot Falkner is riding on. Perfect timing and teamwork. My pokemon had never let me down before.

A blast of a Dark Pulse later at zero distance, zoroark jumped off the pidgeot and landed back by my feet on all fours before standing on his hind legs once more. He proudly gave me the two items I had commanded him to steal with Thief when the opportunity arises.

A Charizardite Y and a Pidgeotite. These are rare to come by even if you are a trusted trainer of the Indigo League. This might be what is needed for my immediate promotion to Executive. Our joker card worked.

"Shit! Our mega stones! Don't let him get away!"

Falkner's pidgeot is still standing strong despite receiving a Dark Pulse right at its face, and the expression on Falkner's face tells me very clearly that he is now enraged. Zoroark stealing not just one, but _two _mega stones will definitely cause an uproar within the Indigo League. Mega Evolution is a secret that absolutely cannot be let known to the world, and I just so casually not only use it in front of the two trainers in front of me, but also deprived them of their greatest weapon.

In their eyes, what they see is that their weapons are now Team Rocket's to use, and Team Rocket definitely possess the knowledge and skill to utilise Mega Evolution, an extremely feared power whose very existence is heavily guarded. To strike fear into Indigo is one of the objectives of today's attack on the park. With this joker card move, I not only achieved my own personal objective, I also fulfilled my mission as a Rocket. My cover had been further solidified.

Someone should give me and my pokemon a round of applause. Too bad our only audiences are two very angry trainers who cannot appreciate the beauty of my performance.

The loss of two rare mega stones _will _be a huge hit to the Indigo League, and also a huge embarrassment for them. Conversely, the addition of the two mega stones will be beneficial to Team Rocket. Just what I need to get myself promoted.

All with a usage of Thief. It is a really handy move, although I cannot help but wonder just **_how_** did zoroark managed to steal the Charizardite Y without me seeing it in action? That slacker is getting trickier to deal with day by day.

"Close the curtains. Night Daze."

A massive pitch-black shockwave of dark energy blanketed the area as zoroark let loose a powerful Night Daze. He had obviously used the time where he had feigned capture earlier to secretly power up with a Nasty Plot. He's tricky like that.

With the Night Daze causing destruction everywhere and obscuring us from view, I whistled for my pokemon to use this chance to regroup and returned back to my side. I'm glad that they came out unscathed.

With zoroark's Night Daze still running rampant, our still invisible Exeggutor _(thanks to zoroark)_ protected us all with his barriers as his eyes glowed strongly with power, already charging up the required psychic power to get us out of here with Teleport.

I'm in a good mood. There are a few hiccups here and there, but I am now a lot closer to my end goal. For some reason, I have a feeling that the female Ranger is why Falkner is even here in the first place. Not only do they look somewhat similar, Falkner's appearance is too swift even if Violet City is near the National Park and I doubt the President has the ability to somehow manipulate a _Gym Leader_ to station himself here today.

If what I suspect is true, I will have to thank her the next time I see her. I'm grateful to her for her assistance. _Something _actually went _right _for **_once _**after all.

Feeling slightly mischievous today thanks to my good mood, I cannot help but imitate Giovanni by tipping my breton cap a little in the direction of the two persons standing on the side of justice as their pokemon charged towards us, determined to get the stolen items back.

They won't be fast enough. They had fought fair, but the point is I never cared about fighting fair. They should have used all means to put me down the moment they had the chance. I am a criminal, not your regular trainer.

I am a true Dark Specialist. Fighting fair against people like me gets you nowhere.

"Thank you for your kind donation, gentlemen. Adieu."

We disappeared in a Teleport.

And the curtain closes.

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Elite Officer Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Elite Officer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon, (Nosy), genderless**


	12. Chapter 11- Team Rocket's True Purpose

Right in his palm are two brightly coloured stones.

_Charizardite Y and Pidgeotite_

These are rare mega stones even for the Indigo League. To think that these stones are now in his hands is a little too surreal for him. Even _he _himself is seeing these stones for the first time. When he had given the order to attack Johto National Park, all he was expecting is for his subordinates to do something better than Team Aqua.

He wasn't to get something _else _on top of it.

Not only that, all objectives of the mission parameters had been met spectacularly. Fear had not only been driven into the hearts of Indigo's citizens, but into the ruling body of the Indigo itself. He was _there _during the Thirteen Pillars emergency meeting. He _knows_.

The Rocket's Exterminator is truly dangerous. Plague is one of his best members. He's like a sheathed dagger. Dangerous when sheathed and carried around, but absolutely _lethal _when drawn.

He had proved himself to be one of Team Rocket's most valuable assets. Someone of his skill and experience is priceless within the organisation.

"Even after hearing _how _he had done it, I still want to _see _for myself how it was done." Giovanni spoke in amusement as Archer stood at the other end of the room at attention. Giovanni himself is still admiring the mega stones. "Too bad all security footages were erased."

"Elite Officer Plague is one of a kind, Sir." Archer spoke up. "It's not just me. I'm sure Ariana had already told you about how impressed she is of him. Petrel is his direct superior, he also has many good things to say about him. "

"And Proton?"

"Proton and Plague didn't have many opportunities to work together, I'm afraid. Proton doesn't really know Plague all that well, but seeing from their few interactions how Proton didn't try to maim Plague on sight, I guess Plague left a good impression on him in the few times they met."

"I've been thinking of promoting him to Executive for a while now." Giovanni admitted as he sat down in the office chair, leaning comfortably on it. "He passed my test with flying colours too when I approached him undercover."

"I didn't know you had already met him personally, Sir."

"I was curious about him, especially when I found out just _how _he earned the title of Exterminator." Giovanni said as his mind went back to that snowy night at Viridian. "He still felt regret for killing his partner, which is understandable considering that they were probably lovers, but his loyalty is undoubtedly with us. His skills at maintaining cover without raising any suspicions even when a supposed Gym Leader confronted him out of the blue is worthy of praise."

"Does he believe in our organisation's true ideals, Sir?"

Giovanni closed his eyes as a faint smirk appeared on his face. He can still remember Plague's answer to his hidden question. The most important question of his test.

_"You aren't wrong. I think that way too."_

"He does. There is a reason why Ariana and I chose all three of you to be our Executives, Archer. You know this. It's because we are Kantonians. It's because all of us had suffered under the hands of the Johto administration in one way or the other. Kanto is our homeland and only we will know what is best for her and her people. Only we can protect Kanto from Indigo, who are made up of our Johtonian oppressors."

"If my memory serves me right, Plague is a Kantonian as well. More specifically, he's-"

"From Viridian. Like me." Giovanni completed Archer's sentence as he opened his eyes once more, a knowing smirk on his face. "I had already heard Ariana's and Petrel's opinions on this, but what do you think about having another Executive join our ranks, Archer?"

"For one, I'm hoping that my workload will lessen if he joins us. I don't think Proton will disagree with me."

Giovanni let out a brief chuckle at Archer's honest words. Once the laughter left him, his voice turned serious once more.

"What about Plague's condition? How long more can he last?"

"Petrel and I are having the doctors and scientists working on a cure ASAP, Sir. We know just how invaluable Plague is to us and the fact is, he _is _our precious comrade and friend. The scientists are still baffled at what is… _plaguing _him, but they suspect that Mega Evolution may really be the reason." Archer reported dutifully to the leader that he had sworn his loyalty to. "They theorised that Plague must have overused its powers in the countless missions he had been assigned to complete, and it somehow backfired on him instead of his pokemon."

"Had he ever go past the five minutes safety guideline?"

"No, at least none as far as we are aware of. The scientists suspect that it might be the frequency of usage rather than the duration of the usage that is the cause of this unexpected illness, Sir. There is no one we know in the organisation that uses Mega Evolution as often as him. I personally think that this is because he had been sent on too many dangerous missions. We relied on him too much because there were many missions in our organisation that only _he _can do as our Exterminator. Also, Plague's condition had relapsed after the last mission, Sir. I had given him strict orders to take two weeks of medical rest and lay low."

"In that case, do me a favour and help remind the rest of the Executives to only use Mega Evolution when strictly needed. I don't want to lose any of you because of this unknown phenomenon. I will have Plague lay low for the next six months. You tell the scientists and doctors to use this time to hurry and stabilise his condition. I will personally reassign him to _that_ hideout during this period. He can rest properly there while helping me to guard _that thing_. Plague needs to stay hidden. He is too good. He had completed his mission so well that now Morty _and _Falkner are hunting for him. Even _Karen _is interested in his abilities as a fellow Dark Specialist. We will have Plague disappear off the grid until we need him again." Giovanni instructed as he crossed his fingers. "The rest of you can easily continue what he started from here. There won't be another need for an attack as massive as the one on the park, just do some small scale attacks every now and then to constantly remind Johto that we are still around. It's always the unseen and unknown that creates fear in people's hearts, remember that and you will do well."

"Yes, Sir. Anything else?"

"Prepare a new set of Executive uniform, and also arrange a time for me to meet your newest colleague. I will personally give him his new assignment then." Giovanni stood up from the chair as he walked out of his office, Archer following him from behind.

"It's time I officially meet the Rocket's Exterminator as the leader of Team Rocket."

* * *

My heist worked.

The Charizardite Y and Pidgeotite I stole, on top of the exemplary results the attack on the National Park had achieved had made Giovanni very, very _happy_.

I am now Executive Plague of Team Rocket, and right now, I am finally granted a meeting with the true leader of this organisation face-to-face.

"Surprised?"

"Yes, Sir." I replied, making sure to display the hidden surprise on my face. "I suspect that our initial meeting was not coincidental, but I wasn't… expecting this."

"I wasn't lying when I said that I'm sure that a good man like you will undoubtedly go far in your career no matter what path you choose." Giovanni replied with a confident smirk, hands in his pockets. "That uniform looks good on you, Executive Plague."

"Thank you, Sir."

I nodded a reply as I tried my best to not show any hints of emotion on my face. Giovanni looked back at me with a grin, one that unsettled even me.

This is _Giovanni_, the leader of the largest criminal organisation in Kanto and Johto. He is also currently one of the strongest trainers walking around. He is the Gym Leader of Viridian. He is supposedly the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto and was once a member of Kanto's Elite Four in his youth.

One look and I know that he is out of my league. If I want to bring him down, a head-on battle will never work.

"Even way before I met you, I had heard many good things about you, Plague, especially from Petrel and Ariana." Giovanni continued to speak lazily as he turned around to look at the scene behind him. We are currently at the roof of a tall building in Saffron overlooking the entire city. On paper, this building belongs to an investment holding company that had no traces of getting itself involved in criminal activity. In reality, it belongs to Team Rocket.

"I asked you a similar question the first time we met. I will ask you again. Tell me, what do you think of the state of Kanto?"

"It is a land that looks peaceful on the outside but filled with strife and impoverishment on the inside." I spoke neutrally as my mind began to run through the list of possibilities of what Giovanni really wants to hear from me. I am already somewhat confident in my suspicions thanks to the digging I had done after our first encounter, but one can never be too sure when dealing with someone like Giovanni.

I continue to explain my answer.

"The situation is improving, but another big event is all it needs to break the fragile peace. There are always loopholes in the legal system, one that our organisation exploited to get to where we are today. Food and agricultural produces in Kanto are scarce and our economy had never managed to do well enough to sustain us as a whole. The rich just get richer while the poor get poorer. Because of that, Kanto has the largest economic inequality as compared to the other regions. But that is our advantage. Because people cannot find jobs, they are willing to join us in desperation. Because they have no homes to return to and nothing else to lose, they turn to us to keep their stomachs filled and to have a roof over their heads. It's how we secured our members' loyalty, by promising our members that they can not only survive, but also have the chance to flourish so long as they work for us."

"Splendid observation, Plague! Just what I expected from my Executive!" Giovanni turned back around to praise me with a large smile on his face. "You are an Executive now, so there are some things that you need to know if you work under me as one. Humour me once more, what do you know of what I did before I became the Gym Leader of Viridian?"

"That you were once a member of Indigo's Elite Four, Sir." I stated matter-of-factly. "There wasn't much record left of what you did as a member of the Elite Four and I wasn't born yet at that time, so I don't know much of what you really did other than hearing some of your exploits through word of mouth. You stepped down to become the Gym Leader of Viridian at the same time Professor Samuel Oak stepped down as Indigo Champion. If my memory serves me right, Blaine was also an Elite Four member. He did the same thing you did and became the Gym Leader of Cinnabar in that same period."

"_Kain_." Giovanni sneered in hostility the moment the current Indigo President was mentioned. "That good for nothing, self-centred bastard. He _promised_. He promised to solve the problems in Kanto, to help lift the region from poverty. He did **_nothing_**."

I don't know what Kain did to Giovanni, but our opinions of Kain is at least one thing that we can agree on. We can be best buds just from this alone.

The main difference between the Indigo League and the Indigo Government is that one is in-charge of pokemon-related affairs and the other is not. The Indigo President that heads the Indigo Government and the Indigo Champion that leads the Indigo League do **_not _**cross with each other unless necessary because their duties are separated from each other. They do not interfere in each other's affairs unless strictly necessary and it is a system that the other regions adopt as well.

But Kain meddled in _everything_. His reach is so vast that there are many things about the Indigo League that even Lance himself does not know, _but Kain knows_. The secret facility that houses the prehistoric pokemon was one of them, even if I only found that out much later. Lance knew _nothing _about it when something like that was supposed to be under his jurisdiction. It's all because of Kain's secret meddling. He is an absolute control freak that wants to control everything because he trusts no one but himself.

I knew Giovanni was an Elite Four member more than twenty years ago. He was still young back then, a young promising trainer that swiftly climbed his way up as a member of Kanto's Elite Four. But sometime after he became a member of Kanto's Elite Four, Giovanni had stepped down for reasons unknown, although many suspected that it was a power play to replace the Kantonian Elites with Johto trainers, maintaining the ratio of 1:1 for Kanto and Johto Elite trainers in Indigo to keep the harmony between regions, portraying the image that there are no biases in Indigo's politics. That they are equal.

I only found out more about the regional difference after much digging. Officially, Kanto and Johto may be two regions but are considered as one and the same. There aren't supposed to be much discrimination or hostility. At least on paper, everyone is given a fair chance to try and strive for their dreams no matter the region that they came from.

In reality, the differences are always there no matter how small it is. Sure, it is a lot better than when Indigo was first founded, but there will always be some lingering animosity and distrust from both sides towards each other for many reasons. It is a delicate topic for the League to handle and also an extremely volatile one. Just look at the Kanto ban Senator Langley had brought up. The effects of simply bringing that topic up is already beginning to spill over the entire Indigo. Giovanni is really a master at causing dissent and chaos.

I just don't know to what extent is Giovanni interested about the concealed distrust between Kantonians and Johtonians.

The divide in Indigo is troubling, and it is not uncommon for third party groups to spring up every now and then, championing for their region's rights or to even campaign for the separation of their region from Indigo. The Indigo League and the Indigo Government had always been swift in suppressing such groups to maintain the delicate peace. Over time, people had learnt to not voice their opinions out loud, but that doesn't mean that their sentiments had subsided.

Johto is a land with much more resources. Unlike Kanto, their lands are fertile. Johto's lands are also not dotted with numerous unscalable terrains that made travelling from point A to point B difficult, a problem that the Kanto region has that severely hindered its economic development. Johto had always been the richer region because of that, and the League always have to direct a sizable amount of resources from Johto to Kanto to help keep the region afloat, especially when it comes to the food problem that Kanto always face.

Obviously, there are Johtonians who are not pleased with the arrangement. Remember the mess that resulted simply by bringing up the Kanto ban? The resentment didn't build up over a few days, it had been accumulating for _centuries_. On Kanto's end, they had always accused Johto of exploiting or oppressing them especially when it comes to the topic of the usage of Kanto's vast deposits of the rare minerals and stones. Kantonians accused Johto for depriving Kantonians of work opportunities and economic benefits that might lift Kanto out of poverty. Johto accuse Kanto of constantly leeching off them. There are many more arguments of who exploits who and each of them are doing a fantastic job in painting themselves as the victim.

Honestly? I couldn't bring myself to care unless it affects my plans.

While the number of dissenters is by no means small, most of Kanto and Johto citizens worked relatively well with each other. Our shared history and geographical location meant that our regions will always be closely entwined with each other whether we like it or not. The only reason why there is so much dissent and mistrust are because the politicians of the old are corrupt shits that mainly consists of Johtonians. The current politicians of now that made up the Indigo Government are useless in resolving conflicts, or simply not interested to make Indigo a better place to live in because they themselves are not affected by it.

It's all about politics and self-serving interests.

There are other politicians from other political parties that could have better solved this issue but the current one that made up most of Indigo's Parliament are too reluctant to let go of the power they currently hold. It doesn't help that the Indigo Government used to have a number of corrupt Johtonian politicians in their ranks that exploited Kanto for their own benefits, although that issue is in the process of being rectified from how Kain is weeding such politicians hiding in his Parliament.

In my opinion, the process is still _too slow_ because Kain stubbornly insists on doing everything by himself. He doesn't trust anybody else to do the job for him when they clearly can. He really could have just delegated his work to someone else. That man is more stubborn, egoistic, distrustful, and paranoid than anything else that I have ever seen in both my lives.

In any case, it still doesn't change the fact that Kanto's citizens suffered.

The Indigo League is doing fine when it comes to handling pokemon related affairs, but the same cannot be said for the Indigo Government and the duties they are entrusted with. It is also because of the ineptitude of the current Indigo Government that Team Rocket was able to flourish. Team Rocket grew from the cracks in the laws that were placed, exploiting legal loopholes, preying on children and adults that had nowhere to go and desperate for help, help that the Indigo Government should have given.

Now, keep in mind of the situation that I had just explained and think about this: What happens when your own government, the ones who are supposed to be **_your _**_protector_, failed to give such help and **_another _**party gave it to you instead?

_Team Rocket_ provided such help, and it was how they managed to be the King of the Underworld in Indigo and secured the loyalty of many of Kanto's desperate masses. In fact, considering the number of legal businesses Team Rocket secretly owns, I have no choice but to admit that Team Rocket is actually _crucial _in supporting Kanto's economy. If all of Team Rocket's secret legal businesses falls in a single day, Kanto **_will _**be doomed. Many Kantonian grunts in Team Rocket are extremely loyal to their cause because to them, Team Rocket are their saviours. Not the Indigo.

I'm starting to think that Team Rocket is simply more than just a terrorist organisation. With how active they are in genuinely developing Kanto's economy and providing honest jobs to jobless people, I'm suspecting that Giovanni is more in favour of helping Kanto than in destroying it. Many of the employees of Team Rocket's secret legal businesses don't even _know _that they are actually working for Team Rocket, which make things more complicated for me. What would happen to Kanto when everything is brought to light and they lose their jobs?

Disaster will strike, that's what.

Assuming that Giovanni sincerely wants Team Rocket to help improve Kanto's economy, I just don't know **_why _**he chose to use the facade of a terrorist organisation. He is a _Gym Leader_, a person of power and influence. Surely there are better ways than to set up Team Rocket to achieve this?

Now that I am looking at the entire situation from a new perspective, I also have no idea **_why _**the Indigo Government always assume that they made the correct decisions. Terrorists acts aside, look at what Giovanni achieved for Kanto as compared to what Kain had done. Over the years since the organisation's founding, Giovanni's Team Rocket had single handedly generated more than **_50%_** of the jobs currently available in the region as compared to what Kain had done. It somehow reminds me of when I had told Kain many times so many years back that Marowak Skull has to be allowed to continue to survive in Kanto if we were to delay Team Rocket's rise to power. Only Marowak Skull had the ability to keep Team Rocket in check when the police force in Kanto were still too incapable to do anything about this issue.

Kain didn't listen, and told me to continue playing my role as a double agent. Because I was not allowed to sabotage Team Rocket's plans to increase their influence, I had no other choice than to follow Team Rocket's orders and wipe out Marowak Skull. I was proven right when Team Rocket's influence expanded aggressively just a short few months after Marowak Skull's disbandment. Kain is still adamant that he made the correct choice despite the results showing otherwise.

On the bright side, jobs in Fuschia suddenly sprung up in many places the moment Marowak Skull was gone, so it wasn't entirely a bad thing for the people. Homeless people suddenly had homes to stay and jobs to work in, something which I had missed previously because I was so engrossed in revenge.

I am **_this_** close to beyond caring about my spy mission at this point. The only reason I haven't tried to leave everything behind and escape to the ends of the world is because I want to make sure that Jane's sacrifice wasn't in vain.

I want her death to have meaning. I don't want it to be pointless. There were originally 359 operatives and now I am the only one left. I don't want the sacrifices of all 358 operatives of Project Illusion to be pointless. I will finish what they started, because this is the right thing to do and the only reason that keeps my alive.

Giovanni tilted his head a little towards the sky as he began to speak, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"When I was young all I wanted is to make Kanto a _'better place'_." Giovanni mocked with a sneer. "I saw from my travels in Kanto how impoverished we are, how bad our security is and how it allowed criminals to do whatever they want. But improving the economy is the job of the Indigo Government, not the Indigo League. The most the League can do about this problem is to help improve our internal security. Our respective responsibilities dictate that our roles and duties cannot cross. So, the moment I became an Elite Four, I told Kain about Kanto's state, even going so far as to put down my status as a member of the Elite Four and begged him for help. He promised me that he will do something about Kanto's state of poverty. To me, the state of my homeland is way more important than my own pride. It was the reason why I wanted to be an Elite Four in the first place, so that I can have the power to do _something_."

Giovanni then turned to face me.

"But Kain did **_nothing_**. In fact, he exacerbated the problem. That egoistic bastard thinks that he knows it all and tried to interfere with both the Government **_and_** the League affairs when the League affairs are strictly none of his business. As a result, he is stretched too thin and unable to direct his focus to things that required immediate attention. Kantonians suffered greatly because of it, and no one noticed because the media, which is under Kain's control, would _never _report on things like these."

"Was _no one_ on your side, Sir? I find that hard to imagine."

Giovanni chuckled.

"There were _many_. Our Champion back then was Samuel Oak, and he was also frustrated in Kain's needless meddling in the League's affairs when he had no reason to. Kain always found some way to meddle with Samuel's job behind his back, one way or another, because he simply doesn't trust Samuel no matter what he did. Kain always thinks that only _he _knows what is best when Samuel is obviously the expert when it comes to pokemon affairs. For crying out loud, Samuel is a _Pokemon Professor_. That title alone says everything. But did Kain place his trust in Samuel to do his job properly? No, he didn't, even if Samuel is one of the best experts on pokemon I ever had the honour to work with."

From personal experience, I can say for certain that Kain never trusts anybody that he cannot totally control. In this aspect, I can relate to Giovanni.

"On top of that, Kain put in place many stupid policies that deprived Kanto of her rights. Trade restrictions, increase in taxes, depriving Kantonians of jobs in Johto and even in our motherland, not giving financial aid to those who need it but decided to use it to build new luxury apartments in Johto instead, because doing so brings about _more financial benefits to Indigo as a whole_. Hah.**_ Whole lot of crap._** The only people who benefited were Johtonians. It's _always_ Johtonians who benefited from his policies, not Kantonians."

The rage in Giovanni's voice is loud and clear.

"I _should _have expected it. Kain is a Johtonian, _of course_ he would only care about his own region. _Of course_ he would exploit Kanto's resources to further Johto's own. I pleaded to Kain many times to help Kanto, because he is the_ President of Indigo_ and it is his duty to do so. I chose to place my trust in my President but each time I was simply brushed off. I got bitter. I was angry. And it was then I decided that I should take this matter into _my own hands_."

Giovanni spread his arms out as he continues to make his great revelation.

"Our deposits of rare stones and minerals aside, Kanto really has nothing else that can help guarantee the survival of her economy. Kanto may lack natural resources, but we have something that other regions don't. We have our _people_, and our people are some of the brightest minds in the world. Just look at Samuel, Fuji, Blaine, and Bill. Among the seven regions, our region had always birthed the most geniuses that helped make the world a better place."

I am not too sure about things not related to pokemon, but Kanto are indeed known for birthing the smartest pokemon researchers and scientists in the world. We were the ones who invented something as ridiculous as Fossil Revival Technology. The living proof is still in Brock's gym in Pewter in the form of a revived kabutops, the first successful specimen that didn't die straight away after its revival. Still, where is this conversation heading to?

"You have to understand, Plague, Kanto's state of poverty was **_no _**laughing matter back in the days." Giovanni emphasised further, a serious look on his face. "But I'm a pokemon trainer, not an expert in running Kanto's economy. I am not in a position to do anything. So, I did all I could. I used all my connections to try and find like-minded individuals that can help me. As long as they are experts in areas that can pull Kanto out of poverty, I approached them in secret and convinced them to join me in my cause. My family gave me my full support, and so did my close friends. Together, we started something. Something that can hopefully help Kanto. Slowly, my wife and I managed to form a small team that consists of experts in many areas. Be it in economics, finance, law, geography, pokemon, _anything _that we think is necessary, we gathered them all. We called ourselves SKIP, _Separation of Kanto from Indigo through Peace_, because that is our belief. What we are aiming for is to help Kanto leave Indigo, but none of us want to start a war because we know how horrifying war can be. We are not warmongers. It was because of this belief that we were adamant on making it a _peaceful _separation. As you would already suspect, SKIP would later be reformed by me and my wife into the Team Rocket that we know today."

So this is how Team Rocket _truly _started. This is not what I was expecting when I finally got to meet Giovanni in person.

"For our beliefs, we worked tirelessly. We need to find ways to allow Kanto to stand on her own and sustain herself without any external help. We knew we lack natural resources that is not our precious stones, and they are perishable resources that will run out one day. Maybe not _now_, but we have to think about our future. What we fear will happen somewhere in the next few centuries if we rely too much on our precious stones."

Giovanni began to slowly pace about as he continues his story of Team Rocket's history.

"With this in mind, the experts I gathered developed ways to work around it. Our solution was our people. We found ways to _invest _in our people. Education, for one, is an area that we had heavily invested in. Since all we can rely on are our people, we invested in them. Not only did we secretly set up numerous schools across the region that provide quality and affordable education for any child that needs it, we secretly helped Kanto to develop its service sector, aiming to let Kanto become an international hub that can provide professional services to whoever needs it, from whatever region they hail from. People from around the world will flock to us to use the services our people can offer because our people will be just that good, _because we invested in them_. That was our plan and vision for Kanto, to help her stand on her own two feet without relying on Johto, all by investing in her _people_. We _cannot _rely on Johto since they are outsiders. _Kanto is not their home_, they wouldn't care whether we live or die. They will always find ways to oppress and exploit us. Look at the past 500 years. Our history said it all."

Now that explains a lot on how Giovanni's Team Rocket has its fingers in almost every pie. He didn't manage to do it alone. He had help from experts in many fields from days long past. But what _really _happened to them? I barely knew anything about SKIP other than its destruction from what little I knew during my digging for more information. If Giovanni's SKIP was so _successful_, why was Team Rocket born?

"However, we also knew that what we did was technically illegal, even if it is to help Kanto. Knowing Kain, he won't stand for SKIP's existence once he learnt of it. Do you know why, Plague?"

"If I have to make a guess, Sir." I replied in an even voice as my mind began to piece the picture of Kanto's situation based on what Giovanni told me. "SKIP's existence was undermining the very authority of the Indigo Government. If SKIP proved itself to be too efficient and good in solving Kanto's problems, no one in Kanto would support the Indigo Government. There would no longer be a need for Kanto to be a part of Indigo. As Indigo President, that is one outcome Kain will never accept, because Indigo is Indigo because of the merger of Kanto and Johto."

"Got it in one. I expect nothing less from you." Giovanni nodded in satisfaction. "Like you said, our existence itself might very well topple the Indigo Government. The founding members of SKIP knew that from the very start, that SKIP _cannot _be exposed in the open or a violent revolution might be sparked when Kantonians learnt what we secretly did for them. That was not an outcome SKIP desired, so everything we did was of utmost secret. SKIP will help Kanto from the shadows and even if no Kantonians knew about what we did for them, it's fine. We never demanded for recognition of our work. All we wanted was for Kanto to prosper and be free. That was all we ever asked."

Really made me wonder just **_what _**happened for SKIP to turn into the Team Rocket that I know of today.

"However, we were no fools. We knew that we always need to have a backup plan. Hence, we also prepared ourselves for the worst case scenario, where a peaceful separation of Kanto from Indigo is not possible and war between the two regions break out despite our best efforts. We realised that if our worst fears came through, that we have _no choice but to fight back for our own independence_ and prevent Johto from continuing to oppress and exploit us, we need one thing._ One crucial thing_ that Kanto always lack. We need **_firepower_**."

Giovanni sighed as he looked upwards into the sky.

"Johto has the Tower Duo and the Legendary Beasts, who are usually present in Johto, but we had nothing like that on our side. Kanto's only legendaries are the Legendary Birds, who are usually somewhere outside of the region flying to Arceus knows where, only stopping to rest in Kanto when they need a break. We cannot rely on them to defend us in our time of need because they most probably won't be there. In that case, we need something on the level of a legendary pokemon to help defend us, because if we ever found ourselves in war once more against Johto, like what happened before Indigo was founded five centuries ago, we need it to defend us. We need that kind of pokemon, a pokemon who can turn the tide of _any _battle into our favour."

Giovanni raised two fingers.

"So, SKIP separate ourselves into two groups, like how the Indigo separates itself into the Indigo Government and the Indigo League. One, headed by my best friend back then, will continue to find ways to improve Kanto's impoverished state and make Kanto's peaceful separation from Indigo a reality. Another group, headed by me, will find a way to get a pokemon on the level of a legendary on our side so that when all else fails, we have a way to defend ourselves. My wife and I gathered a team of pokemon trainers, researchers, and scientists for that cause. You might know some of them. Oak, Agatha, Fuji, Blaine, and Bill were people who my wife and I once worked with. We embarked on a secret military project, Project Rebirth."

A military project? I would need to secretly check on the Indigo's own database when I have the time. Maybe the League will have information on it that Giovanni chose not to share with me.

"Samuel Oak is a Kantonian and is able to do something as our Champion, and he was sympathetic to our cause when I tried to recruit him back then. Like me, he had given up on Kain and was frustrated at the level of mistrust Kain has towards everybody else. Samuel is also a brilliant researcher and scientist. He agreed to help us behind Kain's back because he knew that _something _needs to be done if we want to prevent Kanto from crumbling from within. The signs were all already there. Just one unfortunate event gone wrong will bring about a violent war. As Champion, it was his duty to make sure that didn't happen, so he readily took the offer we gave him."

I have a feeling that I really wouldn't like what I am going to hear.

"I trust Samuel with my life. Since he is more capable than me, I let him take charge of Project Rebirth. With him spearheading Project Rebirth, whose objective is to get a pokemon that can defend our lands from Johto's own legendaries, we made some headway. The combined efforts of the team uncovered the existence of another powerful pokemon whose existence everyone had thought to be a myth for the past millennia. A pokemon that can easily fight against Johto's Legendary Beasts on its lonesome. The pokemon who is said to have the DNA of every single pokemon in existence and the knowledge to use every pokemon move we ever know and _even more_."

My eyes widened a little in realisation as I quickly pieced the clues together.

_No. Damn. Way._

"That pokemon is Mew. By tracking the roots of its myths, we found an old sea map that marked the location of a remote island that is Mew's home. With the combined efforts of Oak, Agatha, Blaine, and I, aided by certain equipment that Fuji and Bill invented, we caught the elusive Mew."

At this point, I cannot help but voice my own thoughts.

"Sir, if we had _Mew _on our side, then **_why _**aren't we already fighting for Kanto's independence?" I asked perplexedly. "Like you said, Mew is a pokemon said to be able to use every single pokemon move in existence with power that puts itself above many other legendaries despite being a mythical pokemon. You said that even if it was a 3 vs 1 scenario, Mew definitely has a way higher chance of beating Johto's Legendary Beasts. Kanto still hasn't found a way to bring herself out of poverty. We are still overly reliant on Johto for our food supply and the only thing we have in abundance here are our rare minerals and stones, and usage of it is still being hindered by the Kanto ban. Those stones are limited resources that will be depleted one day. There is still a sizable group of people from the public who supports Kanto's separation from Indigo. All the motivations and resources we need in fighting a war for Kanto's independence is in our hands. There is no reason why Team Rocket had not already started a war long ago. Why wait?"

Giovanni gave me a weary look.

"We never factored in one thing into our plans, something which we never foresee. Mew is a pokemon that is so gentle that it never wants to harm any other pokemon or human, no matter how evil they may be. In fact, its unwillingness to hurt us was why we even managed to capture it in the first place. We never managed to convince Mew to fight for our cause, no matter how much we talked to it. Mew understands where we are coming from and it showed us sympathy, but it never agreed to help us. To Mew, agreeing to help us will mean that it will have to hurt others. This is why Mew hid itself on that island, so that it will never hurt another being. To not hurt another being is its own personal rule that it strictly adheres to. Mew is a pokemon that is simply too kind. It is never fit for the battlefield. Realising that, the initial plan for Project Rebirth was hence deemed a failure."

My mind is now working overtime, piecing together all the clues and knowledge I know about this world. If recruiting Mew is deemed a _failure_, and knowing how the plot of the original games turned out, then...

"By that point, we were _desperate_, because it was getting harder and harder to hide SKIP's existence among all the chaos. Kain was already onto us and had listed us a Level 10 threat, saying that our group's existence directly threatens Indigo's sovereignty and is to be dealt with extreme prejudice. Meanwhile, Kanto was on the verge of experiencing an economic depression. Kantonians are starting to turn violent because they have no way to feed themselves while Johto is still bathing in their riches, uncaring about our plight. It didn't take long for Kantonians to turn their hate towards Johto, viewing them as the reason for their circumstances. Honestly, they weren't wrong. The Indigo Government of then were filled with corrupt politicians and many of them are Johtonians who exploited Kanto for their own ends. Sentiments for separation through force were at an all time high. War could erupt _at any moment_. If that were the case, Kanto **_will _**lose. **_Billions _**of Kantonians will die if a war took place because there is **_no way_** we can win a war against Johto, not when they can easily direct their Legendary Beasts against us and our Legendary Birds were still nowhere to be found. We desperately need a pokemon that Project Rebirth is supposed to bring about. When we were at our most hopeless and desperate, Fuji and Blaine came up with a mad plan. A plan so _insane _that the rest of us rejected it initially, but later learnt to see the beauty of it."

Giovanni let out a resigned sigh as he closed his eyes.

"We all accept the fact that pokemon on the level of the Legendary Birds and Mew are extremely rare to come by. It is hard enough to even meet them as it is, let alone catch it and then tame it. Hence, we came up with this crazy idea. Instead of catching a legendary pokemon, we would **_create _**_our own legendary pokemon_. A new pokemon. An_ entirely new _species of pokemon that would defend Kanto no matter what it takes. Our initial plan failed because Mew was too kind. Our scientists found out that Mew's DNA has the genetic code of every single pokemon in existence that we know of. In that case, Fuji and Blaine theorised that if we can use a sample of Mew's DNA to create a pokemon that can fight against other legendaries, one that is cold enough to cast its morals aside and strong enough to stand against all odds, Kanto might be able to survive a war with Johto should it come to the worst-case scenario. Even if we managed a peaceful separation, that pokemon can act as our deterrence should Johto want to consume us under the flag of the Indigo once more. That idea quickly became the new direction which Project Rebirth took because that was the _best _idea we can come up with. That new pokemon is what we called Mewtwo, the second Mew. For Kanto, for the sake of our ideals, we worked day and night. We started to create Mewtwo. Things had also started to take a turn for the better. SKIP had finally found a way to avert the possibility of war and there were signs that it was working better than intended. It **_should _**have worked as we planned."

Giovanni suddenly had a very angry look in his eyes before he growled out his next words.

"But Kain had a hypno. A hypno so absurdly powerful and skilled in the move, Hypnosis. It was because of that experience with his hypno back then that I decided to see if we can train our most trusted and skilled members in Team Rocket to be proficient in using Hypnosis, because even I have to admit it **_is _**useful. However, over the years, only **_you _**ever succeeded to train your pokemon to be masters in that move. Everyone else failed. Training pokemon to do what your pokemon can with Hypnosis is not easy. For that, you have my respect as a trainer, Plague."

Kain once owning a pokemon is not an information that I am privy of. However, it did explain _what pokemon _put _that _mental suggestion in my head. Right now, I'm glad that the hypno is no more, even if I have no idea how it died.

I tried not to give anything away as I made my reply.

"Thank you, Sir."

Giovanni did not acknowledge my reply, but continued his story instead.

"Kain is the most paranoid and distrustful bastard I ever come across, to the point that the _only _pokemon he ever trusted and used was that hypno I talked about. Even after that hypno died very much later on for reasons unknown Kain never got around to replace it because he _never _trusted any other pokemon other than his hypno. Anyway, by some unfortunate luck back then, Kain found out that one of the experts in SKIP was also working for the Government. Guess what he did after he captured my comrade?"

"He extracted information from him using the hypno and used it against SKIP."

"You are partially right, but Kain did even _more _than that. To quell the civil unrest in the fastest way possible, he _publicly _declared that SKIP is working against the interest of Indigo, exposing our existence to the world immediately. Kain, being the paranoid and ruthless bastard as he is, pointed his finger at _us _and held _us _responsible for fanning the flames of rebellion in Kanto. He twisted _every _single fact about us, saying that **_we _**are the ones responsible for inciting hateful sentiments in Kanto and trying to start a war. The whole Kanto immediately became our enemy."

Knowing Kain, it must have ended in a bloodbath.

"All of a sudden, the Indigo's forces were suddenly onto us. We were technically an illegal and underground group, so when he Kain said that no mercy was to be shown, nobody can say otherwise. He ordered the immediate execution of all of SKIP's members and their families. All because in his eyes, we are a dangerous threat to the safety of Indigo that must be swiftly exterminated. If it wasn't for Samuel using his authority as Indigo Champion to secretly help and warn us of the incoming threat, _all of us_ would have perished."

Giovanni dragged a tired palm across his face before continuing.

"Thankfully, we were long prepared for such a possibility. Not all of our identities were exposed. All of SKIP's members never fully knew the entire organisation or its members, just like what Team Rocket is doing now. Like how only the Executives in Team Rocket know of my identity, only very few in SKIP know of the fact that people like me, Samuel, Agatha, Blaine, Fuji, and Bill were its leaders. Our identities were never discovered and we survived, but the same cannot be said for many others and their families. In one night, SKIP was eradicated."

It was then I saw something that I never expected to see. Giovanni shed a single tear.

"I was the youngest in my family. My parents, brothers and sisters, cousins, even my dear nieces and nephews that I loved so much. My closest friends. All of them sacrificed themselves to make sure that none of SKIP's works fall into Kain's hands, especially our military projects because_ who knows_ what that bastard will do with our works if he ever gets his hands on it. They were holed up in SKIP's HQ, making their last stand. I wasn't fast enough to reach them since my wife and I were trying to secretly escort Fuji and Bill to safety while Agatha and Blaine got the rest of the researchers and scientists to escape to the Sevii Islands. Samuel was in charge of releasing Mew back to where it came from so that no one can ever get their hands on it. To make sure Kain learnt _nothing _of the true leaders of SKIP and to protect our organisation's work, my family and friends sacrificed themselves by bombing our HQ sky high. I don't even have any of their remains left to bury them. SKIP was officially exterminated at that moment."

I cannot help but clench my fists upon hearing this. This is the truth that I had always been searching for.

Kain. _It's him again._ It's **_always _**him. Like me, Giovanni is also a victim of his actions.

What do I do now?

"We have no choice but to disband SKIP because of how hard Kain is hunting for us. Samuel felt a deep sense of regret after that incident. Too many died and a war nearly erupted. He felt that he could have done more, because if he did, Kain wouldn't have used us as his scapegoat. He felt that _all the deaths _were on him, because he was our Champion and he failed his duty to both Kanto and Indigo. He tried to hold on, I know he did. Blaine and I also tried our best to support him through the aftermath but I guess everyone has their limits. Strong as he may be, Samuel never fully conquered his inner demons."

Giovanni rested his forehead against his left fist and closed his eyes before giving another sigh.

"About eight months after SKIP fell, Samuel couldn't take it anymore and resigned as Indigo Champion and settled down in Pallet Town, later becoming the world renowned Pokemon Professor that we know today. Lance, not knowing the truth behind Samuel's resignation, took over Samuel's duty as Champion when Samuel stood down. Blaine and I followed Samuel's example the moment he left and we dropped our titles as Elite Four members. Agatha stayed on, only retiring recently. Blaine resigned because he was getting on in his years and his body could no longer handle the strain of work that is expected from a member of the Elite Four. I resigned because I have no wish to take commands from a Johtonian, not after how my family and friends died. Since there happened to be open slots for Gym Leaders in our respective cities, we took on the job as Gym Leaders since the workload is considerably lesser. Fuji, being the kind man he is, also felt remorse for trying to play god and create life. He opened a daycare in Lavender to continue to help pokemon and humans alike. Bill was not even an adult back then. After the fall of SKIP, he went on and became a brilliant inventor and the proceeds from some of his inventions had helped Kanto stand afloat on her own, even if it was only for a short while. I knew he could go far."

After saying that, the look in Giovanni's eyes suddenly turned sharp.

"However, even if the remnants of SKIP decided to bury our past, **_I_** couldn't. My _entire _family died believing in my ideals. They gave their life for it. Still, I tried. I gave Kain many hints and chances to prove himself but each time I just got more and more disheartened. Kanto is _still _suffering. Kanto had _always _been suffering and will _always _suffer under the hands of Johto unless **_somebody _**does **_something _**about it."

Giovanni's angry fist banged against the metal railings once more.

"In the end, I **_gave up_** on Kain. The only person standing by me was my wife. The two of us gathered whatever resources leftover that we could find after SKIP's disbandment and we started anew. The older legal businesses you see today that are now run by Team Rocket, many of them are the results of my SKIP comrades who set them up more than twenty years ago to provide more job opportunities for Kantonians. What we have today is only possible because of the contributions from my comrades from SKIP who Kain had framed, wrongly accusing them for things that they never did. It was when I was visiting the graves of our family and comrades with my wife that I realised that Kanto _have _to ruled by Kantonians if we want to protect our people. I can order the assassination of Kain right now and succeed without question, but another Johtonian tyrant will simply rise to take his place. No, the only way for Kanto to protect her own interests is if we separate from Indigo. There's no other way out of this. After realising that, I made my decision."

Giovanni turned to face me, his steely gaze meeting my eyes.

"If I _cannot _make Kanto peaceful separation a reality through _peaceful _means, then I will achieve it with _whatever it takes_, even if it means going down a violent and immoral path, even if it means starting a bloody **_war_**. I need to amass a nation's worth of wealth. I need to amass an army for Kanto that would not lose to Johto's own. I need _everything _to be on my side for Kanto to win. There's no way I can do this legally, so I chose to stain my hands in blood by creating an organisation filled with the vilest men I can find to fulfil my vision, because the underground world is the_ only place left_ where I can get the resources I need. I had poured _everything_ I had into this. My time, my wealth, and even my family and friends had also sacrificed themselves to help me. I _cannot _dishonour them by taking this lying down. I _will _finish what we started. My wife and I created Team Rocket for this very purpose. To make SKIP's vision a reality, I became Team Rocket's secret leader while spying on the Government and the League as a Gym Leader. My wife managed the organisation in my stead because I'm often not free to do so. You know her as Ariana, even if she had never make any appearances for quite a while now."

Unexpectedly, Giovanni let out a happy chuckle.

"Ariana and I just had our first child, a son. We named him Silver because it was the colour of SKIP's logo. One day, I will bring you to see our son, because Ariana and I trust all of our Executives with our lives and our son deserves to know our wonderful comrades who had worked so hard to protect Kanto. Even the ever grumpy Proton cannot help but love him, which is hilarious in itself."

That, is not what I am expecting.

"Since we are on the topic of names, I should also tell you that Ariana and I named our organisation Team Rocket because we will be the rocket that propels the separation of Kanto from Indigo, like a rocket leaving the earth. This, Plague, is the **_true purpose_** behind the creation of Team Rocket. To this day, we had never looked back."

I spoke up.

"Sir, I have a question."

"Feel free to speak your mind."

"What about Project Rebirth? If SKIP had Mewtwo with them-"

Giovanni shook his head.

"It was never completed on time. The first Mewtwo prototype SKIP started was unfinished. It was what my family and friends were trying to destroy before they sacrificed themselves, so that Kain will never get his hands on it. When Ariana and I decided to form Team Rocket to continue where we left off, I secretly tested former SKIP leaders like Samuel, Agatha, and Blaine to see if they were interested in continuing the project, like how I had tested you in Viridian. However, they have no more wish to continue what SKIP was doing. Not after how everything had failed."

Giovanni leaned his body against the metal railings. The winds began to pick up once more.

"Since nobody from SKIP wanted to continue to work for Kanto's separation, I didn't pressure them to. In their eyes, Kain had somewhat learned from the lesson of SKIP's uprising and was subsequently focusing his efforts to improve Kanto's situation. He_ had to_ if he wants to prevent something like that from breaking out again. Since Kanto's situation had taken a better turn, even if it was far from what we liked, the rest of the former leaders of SKIP decided not to take any further action. For me, I'm _not _satisfied because that doesn't change the fact that Kanto is still being oppressed. Kain is only giving _just enough _to Kanto for her to stay afloat. All the riches are still going to Johto. Kain is not genuinely interested in helping Kanto improve. I know him long enough to see through him."

Giovanni's left arm spread out, gesturing to the scenery behind him, the city of Saffron, the hub of Kanto.

"Look at this, Plague. Look at what Team Rocket had done. Even when Team Rocket is a terrorist organisation, Ariana and I achieved even more than Kain will ever do for Kanto. It's fine even if our former comrades never learnt of what we did for our homeland throughout these years or chose not to join us. I can understand their apprehension and I never blamed them for it. So, I left them alone and continue with my own work, building up from the fruits of labour of SKIP that my wife and I had scavenged. However, I _still _believe in Fuji's and Blaine's idea of creating a new species of pokemon to defend Kanto, even if they sincerely regret ever bringing the idea up in the first place. We _need _something to defend ourselves. I had remnants of Mew's DNA with me along with the most crucial research data about the project. I was the one in charge of destroying said items, but I never erase it because I never stopped believing in SKIP's ideal to free Kanto. I still believe that Kanto can one day regain its freedom. Every surviving member who was a part of SKIP had thought that the project had been buried and erased. It wasn't the case."

Giovanni smirked.

"I restarted Project Rebirth and renamed it as the Mewtwo Project. The Mewtwo Project is the continuation of Project Rebirth. The progress of Mewtwo Project is a lot slower without scientists like Samuel, Fuji, Blaine, and Bill helping out, but progress has still been made despite the fact that it took two decades for it to be near completion. Soon, Mewtwo will be born. Six months from now at the fastest and one year at the slowest, but we _will _have our Keeper of Darkness with us within the span of a year from now. This is why I ordered you to lay low for the next six months, because if all goes well, you will also be fighting alongside us and Mewtwo when the time comes. Executive Plague, this is your new assignment."

I immediately stood at attention and gave my salute.

"Executive Plague reporting for duty, Sir!"

"You will be posted to our most guarded and secret hideout at Fuschia where Mewtwo is being created. I need someone reliable to guard it at this very critical period. That person is you, and failure is **_not _**an option. I _cannot _allow this project to be destroyed again. Use this time to rest properly while Ariana and I prepare for our next big plan. Ariana and Silver are also there, you will also be guarding them during this period. Their safety is of utmost importance to me. In these six months, Team Rocket **_will _**find a cure for you, or at the very least, stop your condition from worsening. I give you my word as the leader of Team Rocket. Not only because we need our Exterminator to exterminate Johto from our motherland, but also because you are our precious comrade. It doesn't matter if you are a criminal or a monster. To Ariana and I, you are our precious friend like how all of our Executives are to us."

Ignoring my looks of disbelief, he carried on rambling.

"The wait was worth it. The Mewtwo project will come to fruition very soon. We can finally overthrow Kain and the Indigo League! Kanto can now be freed of his tyranny!"

I stared at the man whose patriotism to his motherland twisted himself into a fanatical madman hellbent on forcing his ideals on everyone. He is laughing with an insane gleam in his eyes.

Either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. Giovanni embodies this very statement. He's not evil, not truly. Unfortunate circumstances and his one-track mind made him that way. In fact, I cannot find anything to hate about him now that I learnt of his past.

I have been searching for the truth this entire time, but now the truth is in my hands, I have no idea on what I should do.

Jane, what would you do if you were in my shoes? If I was the one dead and you are the one standing here today?

_What would you do?_

Like Giovanni had shared, there is still an underlying hostility between the citizens of the two regions even if things had never escalated to a point of no return before. There were many corrupt government officials in the Indigo Parliament, and they are slowly getting cleaned out and replaced by other upright politicians. I still find them to be overall inept in managing Indigo, but Kanto's economy _is _picking up, and Kantonian's standard of living are slowly beginning to get better.

Slowly, but surely.

People between the two regions who used to dislike each other are now starting to accept each other, trying their best to put their past conflicts behind in an effort to build a better future. I hate the Government and I hate the President even more for what they force me to do but for all its faults, even they have been making sincere and substantial efforts to maintain the peace too. There are even special concessions made to Kantonians, benefits that only they enjoy. It is Indigo's subtle way of helping them, and also a silent apology for all the exploitations Kanto had been exposed to under the administration of previously corrupt Johtonian politicians.

I really don't like Kain as a person since that bastard has the stupid mentality that only he knows what is best for everyone, but he did manage to help improve Kanto's economy in the end. I know for all of his faults, he _did _have Indigo's best interests at heart, including the Kanto region.

However, Giovanni will never believe that. His experiences with Kain made him believe that Kain will forever find ways to oppress Kanto. Giovanni will always think that Kain will help Johto profit at the expense of Kanto. Nothing Kain does will ever change Giovanni's opinion of him because lives had been lost. People who Giovanni had loved died while believing in Giovanni's ideals, sacrificing themselves for him like how Jane died for me. Like how now the duties and lives of the former 358 operatives of Project Illusion are now resting on my shoulders, on Giovanni's shoulders lie the lives of his former SKIP comrades. We are both doing the exact same thing, fighting for each of our own personal goals.

Kain's mistrust of people really backfired in the worst possible way. This whole Team Rocket mess is **_entirely _**his fault.

For once in my life, I really have no idea on what I should do.

But right now, I believe that Kanto _cannot _be separated from Johto and likewise, Johto _cannot _stand on its own without Kanto. Even after what Giovanni and Ariana had done, Kanto still relies too much on Johto for agricultural produce. Johto relies heavily on Kanto providing vital resources critical to keep Indigo's economy as a whole up and running. One cannot live without the other and it will definitely be the case for the foreseeable future.

But here is a patriot that is still clung on to the past, unwilling to let go and unable to accept this reality. I can sympathise with him, but it is just that: sympathise. However, his ideology is dangerous. I am sure that there are many with the same views as him, mostly the Kantonians who had been directly affected by the previous actions of the previously corrupted Indigo Government. I know there are many people who will join Giovanni's cause without hesitation in overthrowing Indigo. Mistrust that lingered for so long can never be so easily erased even after decades, or maybe even after a century. If Team Rocket really succeeded in creating Mewtwo and has enough influence to spark a sudden successful rebellion across Kanto, or even Johto if they are capable enough, a **_war _**will erupt.

More people and pokemon will die. It doesn't matter if you are a Kantonian, Johtonian, an innocent or a rebel. War sucks everyone up and doesn't end until it cannot sustain itself anymore. Another war between regions can possibly doom ourselves. There are no winners in war, only the survivors.

Deaths will be everywhere.

Just what on earth had I gotten myself into?

"Executive Plague, your strength is extraordinary, and you have shown that you are loyal to a fault. With people like you around, Kanto can be freed! We don't need tyrants like Kain ruling over us! Kanto should only be ruled by Kantonians! Johtonians shouldn't have a say in how we run things and they will **_never, step, another, foot, onto our land!_** **NOT IF WE HAVE A SAY IN IT!**"

God, Giovanni's thinking is just… dangerous.

"Team Rocket _will_ free Kanto. The preparations are almost complete. Mewtwo is about to be born soon. Rejoice, Plague, for you will witness the birth of a new Kanto! You will be part of the story of our struggles and victory! We will create a Kanto freed from tyranny! We will no longer be oppressed! To remain free and protect our sovereignty, there is only one way out for Kanto! **_WE_ _will be the oppressors! _**We will **_NO LONGER _**be a part of any alliance! There is **_NO LONGER_** a need for the Pokemon World League! All regions shall be ruled by Kanto! Team Rocket and Kanto will conquer the **_WORLD!_**"

The only thing I can say when Giovanni asked for my support in his endeavour was a solemn "Yes Sir!"

* * *

**AN: Sorry if the wait took a little long. I decided to make heavy changes to this chapter at the very last minute that delayed the entire process. I personally am very happy with the results.**

**Now, I know that I _might _be over worrying about things that aren't there, because I have always been a poor judge of what is a sensitive topic and what isn't, so I'd rather play it safe by putting up a disclaimer before shit hits the literal fan. **

**I don't know where you are from and which country you belong to because my readers come from all around the world, so the topics of discussion in this chapter might or might not anger you depending on your own personal experiences. I cannot tell for sure. In any case, I made it very clear in the Author's Note at the very start of the story about the nature of RE, so don't say that I didn't give you a heads up. I know that the appearance of this chapter **_somehow, by hook or by crook even if it was never my intention**, **_**fits in very well with what is currently happening out there in the real world right now. (You probably know what I'm talking about. One word: Iran. Two words: Hong Kong). **

**I will say this here and I will say this once: **

_The timing of the appearance of this chapter is strictly coincidental. This chapter had been sitting in my laptop for at least eight months now, way before any of the real life events occurred ever since I played Firered Rocket Edition for the second or third time. It is up to you to believe it. It's only recently that I managed to somehow find a way to use this idea of nationalism and turn it into a crux for a story that I had tried to write and had only successfully done so recently. The story is what you are reading now, Rocket's Exterminator._

**If I offended you in any way, I can only say I'm sorry. In any case, I warned you that the themes discussed here may not be what you are comfortable with. All I ask is that you take your opinions of the real world offline _elsewhere _if you really are so offended by it. This story, is fiction. As in to say, it is NOT REAL. So don't bring in real life events into the picture. I'm not here to start a war.**

**Read things with an open mind and put aside your own perspective. Always try to see things from another pov, only then as a race can we improve and learn, to learn how to be a better person. Like I said at the very start of the story, people turn to crime for a variety of reasons. They can be petty reason. It can be noble reasons. I just want to explore that idea in RE.**

**(I have just finished saying the most important things I want you to know as an author. If you are not interested in what I have to say next, you can choose not to continue to scroll downwards.)**

**For the curious ones who wants to learn why I wrote RE in this manner, the reason why I decided to use the theme of nationalism was because Firered Rocket Edition used the same theme, AND I WAS GODDAMNED IMPRESSED BY IT. The complex plot of that game was what inspired me to write RE in the first place. **

**Of course, even if I was inspired by its plot and borrowed elements from it, I don't want to be accused of plagiarism. I made sure to try my best and made many changes to the point that it became a totally different thing (_and I hope it really is a different thing_) and the plot of RE definitely started differently and is heading in a different way. However, the general idea stays the same. I want to make Giovanni a villain that people can sympathise with, because he is doing what he is doing because he sees no other way out. He is a victim of circumstance, merely fighting for his own beliefs in the only way he knows how. The divide between Kanto and Johto is also another theme that is also present in the game and I want to try my hand at writing something ambitious like this. This was why I had been giving subtle hints in the previous chapters about the regional divide and dissent, about Team Rocket's influence in all areas of Kanto, all to slowly build it up for this big and unexpected reveal.**

**There are a few things that I always avoided when writing stories. Making associations to real life events is one of my big taboos, but I decide to break my own personal rule this time despite the unfortunate timing of what is currently happening in the real world outside, because I think we can all learn from Giovanni's past in RE. Stories aren't meant to be just entertaining. Truly good writers, in my opinion, would want their readers to take something away from it. The really good stories are always the ones that teaches us life lessons. Think about it. What is a truly good story that you have read and still remembered today? Did you learn something out of it? I bet that my answer would be 'Yes'. For me, that story was Naruto even if his yelling annoyed me to no end.**

**This level of impact on readers, to learn something out of reading fiction, is what I have been trying to achieve ever since I started experimenting with my writing. I first started for real by writing the darker elements in Walking On Thin Ice in my brief exploration of the theme of depression, PTSD, and suicide. Sure, I know not everyone can digest stories like these. People flamed me for doing it by Chapter 9 of WOTI and this is why I decided to never ever write anymore ANs in that story. There was a good reason why I named that chapter 'Break', because I was _so close_ to discontinuing it because no one seems to agree and accept that depression and PTSD is a real problem. The subsequent chapter was named 'Try' after I left WOTI alone and people started to send in their encouragements. For them, I tried to write chapters for WOTI again. I have to thank them, because I really like how WOTI turned out in the end. So, thank you.**

**My experience with WOTI led me to believe that I will let my own story do the talking instead of explaining myself in the AN. That's why I haven't been writing ANs at the end of chapters as often as before unless I really need to or want to. That's why my stories suddenly changed in style and flavour after that, because there will always be people who will never understand. That's the sad truth.**

**If people hate my stories so much, by all means, do us all a favour and don't read it. Hateful comments made out of spite or your own personal twisted pleasure does nothing but spread negative energy.**

**This is fanfiction. I gain nothing out of doing this other than my personal pure enjoyment and because I know to some people, the updates of my stories make their day. I try, okay? I goddamned _tried _but I am not superhuman and I have my own sad life to live. Writing is DIFFICULT. Writing affects my own damn mood as well. Writing things like suicide and PTSD made me depressed for two whole weeks until I got better. I cannot consistently produce chapters because I myself, like you, am human. I have my own ups and downs. Even then, I continue to write about these heavy topics despite how much I dislike it, _because people need to know._ I saw friends and people around me losing their lives because they lost to their inner demons. I _myself _almost lost myself to my inner demons until I pulled myself out somehow, HOW _else _do you think did I managed to write about suicide in WOTI? _I've been through it. _In fact, my contemplation about the sad meaning of my own life was what got me started writing in the first place. IJWTTTW was born because I was _depressed_ when I had too much time to think and too little to do. The experience is _horrible_. I don't want it to happen, ever again, to _anyone _else if I can do SOMETHING about it.**

**I know I'm not the only one with the same experience. That kind of experience is something that no one will admit and share because you will be judged for it. Writing is the only way I know how to reach out to people because I was never good at speaking. If my stories can help them somehow, then I will try and continue to write.**

**I know people like to read different genres of stories and this is why I keep producing stories that differ so much in character despite my own shitty life that I never seemed to manage to get together and write things that I had never actually experienced. Why else do you think for all my stories, I try to insert a comedy chapter every now and then? I also want to make people laugh, to make their day.**

**Do understand that my time is limited. Like you, I only have 24 hours a day. Writing a chapter like this took hours to complete the first draft. I took months of edits to get this particular chapter to appear before you like this because it is arguably the most important chapter in RE. I have a lot of pride in my work because it is my work, even though there will always be mistakes that I know that I will never catch until I publish it and annoying grammar nazis starts to fire their artillery the moment they had the AH HA! moment and spotted it. If Shakespeare can invent his own goddamn words, I can jolly well invent my own grammer, my own words, my own rules of CaPiTaLiSaTiOn and, how, to, use, punctuation. Sue me.**

**Sad thing is, I have to prioritise which stories I want to update. I'm _sorry _if I have not been updating your favourite fic in a long time. (I really am, okay?) I know each of you have your favourite story that you want to see updated, but _please _stop sending me PMs (or worse still, hateful or prejudiced ones) because of it. Inspiration doesn't come in a snap of the fingers. Determination to carry on writing doesn't come out of the blue. Quality work takes time and effort to be produced. _Please _understand. Most of my time as a writer is not spent writing. It is spent staring at a blank screen not knowing what to write and how to present the idea in my head. Ask any people around you who writes regularly. They can testify to that.**

**I know many people don't like 'angst' stories. Fine, I understand that. That's also why I have stories like To Defy which is more or less like a crack fic. I also want to make people laugh if I can. I want to be that someone whose story updates can make someone's day feel better after they went through a long and shitty day like what some authors did for me. This is why The Sun Of Sunyshore generally have a more carefree and laidback theme, with enough fluff to give anyone diabetes. It is why I insert a comical Fuzzy in IJWTTTW. _It's on purpose_, basically my fanservice to those who only wants to read happy things. I know people like to read happy stories because I do too, but we have to acknowledge that there are many people out there with unfortunate circumstances and this is very real as well. Things like misguided beliefs, suicide, depression, PTSD, etc etc. These are all very real problems plaguing our world. We _need_ to recognise it as a fact and do something about it if we want to make the world a better place.**

**Thank you for reading my rant up to here thus far. Sorry for putting up with my angsty self, but I think I really have to get this out of my system before I can continue writing because I'm so _fed up_ with _certain people_ flooding my inbox and ruining my day with their PMs. You know who you are.**

**As per usual, hope you guys enjoy the story.**

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon, (Nosy), genderless**


	13. Chapter 12- Team Rocket's Executives

"To Plague's promotion and finally joining us as a fellow Executive! To us for finally having another Executive to share our workload!"

I can only let out an amused smile as Petrel took the lead and toasted to my promotion to Executive. With us are Archer and Proton. Giovanni and Ariana aren't here because they are busy taking care of Silver and I've been given a day off since Giovanni and Ariana want some alone time with their son. It's rare that all the Executives are free at the same time, so Petrel had called for a gathering for all the Executives at his house in Saffron.

In name, this gathering is for the other Executives to celebrate me joining their ranks. Personally, I think Petrel wants me and the other Executives to know each other better now that we are of the same rank. I had worked under Petrel long enough to know how he is as a person, but not Archer and Proton.

From what I can see, Petrel lives in a small common looking apartment that you will never associate a high-ranking Executive like him to live in. He earns a lot as one of the highest ranking members of Team Rocket but the place he lives in is for the average Kanto citizen. As far as I can tell from the layout of Petrel's home, he lives alone. There is a small picture frame which displays a picture of him and a small girl with the same shade of purple hair like his, which I guess is probably his daughter. The picture looks old, so the little girl might not be so little anymore.

Proton merely let out a grunt at Petrel's words and Archer just laughed out loud, but we toasted anyway. Together, we are some of the strongest and most dangerous individuals in the largest terrorist organisation known to the world. It is surprisingly normal how we are having a normal gathering like this in Petrel's own home in this ordinary looking place.

"You need to show us how you straight up give the middle finger to Falkner and… what's his name? Ah, whatever! That hotshot Ranger! Yeah, you need to show us how you stole **_two _**Mega Stones right under their noses! Argh! I should have been there to see it!"

"Everything is written in the report." Proton stated coolly as he gulped down his drink.

"But I want to **_see _**it!" Petrel exclaimed, face a little flush from the amount of alcohol we had been drinking. "Plague is like a magician! You should see the number of illusions and tricks he can pull off at the drop of the hat! There's a damn good reason why he was my right hand man before he got himself promoted! His tricks never get boring!"

"Really?" Archer asked with obvious curiosity.

"Tales of my exploits had been greatly exaggerated." I downplayed Petrel's claim as I refilled the drinks in our glasses. "Besides, petty tricks are all I'm capable of. Among the four of us, I'm undoubtedly the weakest in strength."

That is not a lie. Petrel, Archer, and Proton are all trainers that are on the level of Gym Leaders at the very least. Archer scares me the most. His strength is nothing to joke about. Like Giovanni, he is so strong that I have no idea how strong he truly is from just a glance. Archer never takes part in battles until he absolutely has to, so his true strength is still a mystery to me even till now.

Each and every Executive has their own designated responsibility. Petrel is in charge of infiltration, the division which I was a part of. Any places that we need our eyes and ears in Petrel is the man for the job. Proton is in charge of manpower. His duties largely deal with amassing and training Team Rocket's army, including recruiting more members and getting more pokemon. If there are any threats to the organisation that are too strong for Team Rocket and need to be put down he will be called for the job. In a sense, his job is similar to mine in several aspects. Archer is in charge of the finances and making plans for Team Rocket's expansion. He is the first member to make it to Executive among us.

Since Proton and Archer had done well in amassing the needed number of pokemon, Rocket grunts, and funds required for Team Rocket's further expansion, Giovanni and Ariana are considering letting me be in charge of handling the information network of the organisation. Team Rocket has grown too big and there is a need for a new department whose sole job is to handle all the information going in and out of the organisation. That used to be Ariana's job, but her main role was to supervise the R&D department. Keeping an eye on the organisation's information network was just something she does when she's free. Now with me in their ranks as a fellowExecutive, this will allow her to take a break and focus on other matters that need her attention in the R&D department.

I personally suspect this new arrangement is there because Giovanni and Ariana just want to spend more time with Silver now that they have a son. Shifting Ariana's job to me probably sounds like a perfect plan to them since not only Ariana can get her break, I now do not need to go out to the field as often due to my body's deteriorating condition. I get to rest more often since I can easily do my new job from the Fuschia hideout without needing to take a step outside. The only time I will need to be sent out is when things get dire.

It is a welcomed change for me as well. My body is obviously not working as well as I remember it to be. Slowly, but surely, it is starting to fail me. I'm starting to get tired more easily whereas I could easily go on missions after missions without rest just a few years before. I'm slowly becoming incapable of keeping up with the workload that I am used to in my heydays as the Rocket's Exterminator.

"Ah, I knew this 25 year old scotch would hit all the right spots!" Petrel sighed in contentment after he downed another glass of the whisky. "Good thing I've been saving it up all this while!"

"It will be forever a mystery how you keep getting your hands on all the good stuff." Archer shook his head in amusement as he downed another glass as well. Honestly, I've never liked Archer all that much ever since Jane's death but he is not too bad of a person once you get to know him better on a personal level. Proton still doesn't talk much as per usual, but he is less stand-offish behind closed doors.

"We should have a battle someday." Proton commented as he looked at me. "If even Giovanni praised you, then you must be good."

"Hey! Give poor old Plague a break!" Petrel came to my defense as he slammed his empty glass on the table top. "How about _we _finish the battle from before, eh? It's time we decide a winner between the two of us! The Toxic Mask versus the Iceman! Come on!"

"I'm pretty sure I won-"

"Like hell you did! Your ice types fell to my super cool poison types when you used the finishing move! It was a double knockout!"

"Does it really matter who is stronger than who among us?" I questioned.

"No, but it's rare to find worthy opponents when you are at our level." Archer answered smoothly. "All Executives are expected to possess the strength of a Gym Leader at the very least. It's an unspoken rule. If you aren't good enough you won't be promoted to Executive. I've never seen you fight but if Giovanni decides to promote you and be one of us, you must be extremely strong."

"I'm not strong." I politely correct the misconception that Archer has. "I'm simply dangerous. There's a difference between the two. Dark Specialists are not known for having overwhelming firepower that you guys have. To be a good Dark Specialist is not to be strong, but to be dangerous."

"Ah, I see. Now that's something informative."

"Proton don't have firepower! He has ice powers! Get it? _Fire_power and _Ice _Specialist? Hah!" Petrel laughed at his own joke which did not incite any form of laughter from us.

"Your jokes are colder than mine." Proton grumbled as he poured himself another drink.

"You guys are all no fun!" Petrel pointed an accusing finger at us. "Live a little!"

"Your jokes are toxic."

"Wait…" Petrel's eyes grew wider at Proton's response. "Olwen… you make puns?!"

"Why wouldn't I?" Proton narrowed his eyes. So his real name is Olwen, huh? Good to know.

"Arawn!" Petrel put his hands on Archer's shoulders and shook him excitedly. "Olwen is starting to crack jokes! The Iceman is melting! We succeeded! This is so_ cool!_"

"Yes, yes." Archer, no, Arawn, placated Petrel with practiced ease. "Now stop shaking me, Henrik."

"Come to think about it, I still do not know what your real name is." Olwen turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, me too." Henrik replied as he stroked his goatee. "Come on, Plague! Now that we are all Executives we are all each other's friends and brothers! Don't be shy!"

My mind froze for a short while. Archer, Proton, and Petrel seem like they are genuinely being nice and they look like they have a very tightly knitted bond with each other like what real friends will have. They are including me into their little group?

"I guess as the earliest member to join I will get the ball rolling." Archer said as he started to introduce himself, not giving me much time to think. "My real name is Arawn Jaecar. I'm from Lavender."

"Olwen Lummiki. Pewter." Proton stated.

"Henrik Amon!" Petrel jabbed a thumb at himself as he said that. "I'm from Saffron as you can see!"

"Jacob Myers." I said after a short moment of consideration. The best name I could give is the official identity that I have in the Government database. Any less and it may raise suspicions if anyone did a background check on me. "I'm from Viridian, but I don't really spend much time there."

"None of us really spent any time in our hometowns once we became a Rocket." Henrik waved it off flippantly. "Too many things to do. I mean, we _are _planning to take down an entire region. Nice to have you with us, Jacob!"

"Thanks for having me." I responded politely. Right now, I cannot see them as bloodthirsty criminals no matter how much I try. They are all surprisingly nice and normal. Just what pushed them to become a Rocket? I've seen many scums during my work as the Rocket's Exterminator, I know one when I see one but the three of them don't behave like one behind closed doors.

"Hey, how's Mewtwo like?" Henrik inquired curiously. "The ultimate weapon, is he anything you imagined it to be when you first heard of its existence? Cool, eh? That we have something like Mewtwo on our side?"

"It certainly is beyond my wildest expectations for the organisation to have something like Mewtwo." I admitted truthfully. "I originally imagined Mewtwo to be extremely violent, but I see none of that in our telepathic conversations. Right now Mewtwo behaves like an overly curious child."

"Is that so? Interesting." Arawn mused. "I heard that the only person Mewtwo would willingly talk to is you. It's reassuring that there is finally someone in the organisation that could potentially tame Mewtwo."

"I still think we should just work on catching Kanto's legendary birds." Olwen spoke up. "I myself am interested in facing Articuno in battle."

"For an Ice Specialist you are surprisingly hot-headed, eh?"

"Shut up, Henrik."

"Olwen is not wrong." Archer said with a chuckle. "With Mewtwo at our disposal, we can actually work on capturing the legendary birds and further bolster our military might. We can then have four legendaries on our side."

"Taming them aside, can legendaries even be contained in pokeballs?" Henrik questioned. "Nobody has tried before, have they?"

"That's why we will find out. If not, we can always create our own brand of pokeballs specifically to capture them. If we can create something like Mewtwo, I'm sure we can create pokeballs with the sole purpose of capturing legendaries too. I heard Ariana is working on the possibility of working with Team Galactic for this very purpose. Like us, their goals involve capturing legendary and mythical pokemon."

"Why Team Galactic?" I asked. "They are not the only organisation wanting to capture legendaries and mythicals."

"But they have the most advanced technological know-how when it comes to this field." Arawn patiently explained. "Team Galactic have some of the brightest engineers in the field of pokemon capture despite the large cut in size they suffered thanks to Volkner of Sunyshore."

"The crazy guy who is responsible for reducing Team Galactice by more than half their original size in just a year or two, right?" Henrik shuddered at the thought. "Crazy fellow alright. Glad he isn't working for the fucking Indigo."

Henrik's right. I've heard about Volkner and his contributions to Sinnoh. Every terrorist in the world would have. For a person to single handedly wipe out more than 50% of a terrorist group as large as Team Galactic is unheard of. The remaining Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars took care of the rest. Team Galactic is still a threat to Sinnoh but it is now merely a shell of its former self from the damage they suffered thanks to Volkner. After doing what he did to Team Galactic, Volkner had resigned from his position of Gym Leader about a year ago and promptly disappeared from the public's eye. Nobody knew where he is now but his name alone still strikes fear in the underworld. He had struck such a deep rooted fear within Sinnoh's underworld that I've heard that the people there simply avoided anything that might have ties or relations to Volkner.

"It will be problematic if there is someone like Volkner within Indigo." Olwen agreed with a nod of his head. "But Indigo are made up of corrupt shits unlike Sinnoh, so even someone like him will have trouble to have free reign to do what he wants if he does intend to go against the organisation. Both the Sinnoh League and Government does give him a surprising amount of freedom to deal with the Galactic problem."

"To be fair, he did earn the trust that the Sinnoh League gave him." Henrik said. "As far as I'm able to find out, Sunyshore's GDP tripled during his time there as Gym Leader and he is the reason why Sunyshore went from the poorest city in Sinnoh to one of the most prosperous and safest cities in the world. If only any of Kanto's Gym Leaders are like him, we wouldn't need to be here."

"He did choose a good successor too. Riley Slyde, a _Generalist_. I heard that Riley was his apprentice. He actually trained a Generalist to be a decent Pillar." Olwen said with a smirk. "Now I really want to fight against Volkner."

"Nah, don't. You will most definitely lose." Henrik waved a lazy hand at Olwen's direction, which earned him a scowl. "Only the boss would stand a chance against someone like Volkner."

"True." Arawn nodded in agreement. "It's no secret that Volkner is at least on the level of an Elite Four in terms of strength. He was supposed to replace Bertha until his untimely resignation."

"Was there a reason for it? His resignation?" I asked curiously. I never cared much about affairs outside the Indigo so while I know about Volkner, I don't know much. If only the Indigo had somebody like Volkner, maybe things in Indigo might not have evolved into what it became today.

"No clue." Olwen shook his head. "His resignation took the entire world by surprise. It was too sudden and came out of literally nowhere. Nobody had seen him after that."

"Man, if only the organisation had someone like him, we would be unstoppable." Henrik gave a dramatic sigh as he said that.

"If only the Indigo had someone like him to have the courage to do what is right, none of us would have been here." Olwen corrected with an ugly scowl. "Fucking Johtonians."

"Fucking Johtonians." Henrik agreed solemnly and his eyes travelled to the small photo frame of him and the little girl. "Poor Carrie."

"There, there." Arawn gave Henrik a comforting pat on his shoulder. "We've been over this, Henrik. Carrie wouldn't want you to continue moping."

"I cannot wait for the day where we can finally go out into the light and just wage an all out war against Indigo." Olwen said with a predatory grin. "I'm going to grind them all into _dust_, Thirteen Pillars in the way or not."

"Patience, Olwen. Patience. You don't see me being too hasty when it comes to my quest for revenge, do you?"

"Tch. The sooner Kain and Lance go down, the better. Kanto is better off without them."

"I understand Kain, but why Lance?" I asked from where I was sitting.

"Olwen just hates Johtonians in general." Henrik shrugged. "What about you, Jacob? Olwen and Arawn both want revenge, I want whatever that happened to my little girl to not ever happen to anyone else again, what about you?"

I know that there is a lot to their individual history that they are not telling, but it would not be wise to probe any further when it's obviously such a sensitive topic for them. At least I now know that Henrik had a daughter and Johtonians are the reason why she isn't around anymore. Olwen and Arawn had probably lost people close to them too from what I can infer and like Henrik, Johtonians are the reason.

That explains the hate they are emitting.

"I guess I just want all the bad things to stop. Especially all the fighting that we have to do simply because we are Team Rocket." I admitted truthfully. "The fighting gets tiring after a while but it's impossible to stop once you are involved. It's a vicious cycle, a cycle brought about by poverty and greed. Poverty was what pushed me into becoming a criminal in order to survive. The organisation's goal is to improve the quality of life and standard of living of Kantonians and it is something that I really want to see done. I don't want to see another Plague emerge simply because Indigo cannot get their shit together."

"Well said." Henrik raised a glass in my direction as he did a little hiccup, obviously getting more and more drunk by the minute. Glad to see my lying skills still have the same effect that I desire it to be. "I sure as hell don't want to see another me running around doing what I am doing because of what I experienced."

"None of us asked for what happened to us to happen." Olwen scoffed. "Fucking Johtonians, always above the law. Fuck them. Fuck the Kanto ban. Fuck everything they have done. The First Champion shouldn't have bothered to annex both Johto and Kanto to establish the Indigo. We can do just fine on our own."

"Technically speaking, the First Champion wasn't a Kantonian and neither was he a Johtonian. He was from the Indigo Plateau, remember?" Arawn said as he waved a finger at us as if he is a teacher educating ignorant students. "Indigo Plateau is located in the middle of both regions, an area of neutrality during those chaotic times. It was when the numerous wars of both regions implicated his homeland that he finally decided to act and conquer both regions for the sake of peace."

"Fat load of help that did." Olwen snorted. "Look at Kanto now. Look at Indigo now. If it wasn't for the organisation Indigo would have been in shambles by now."

"Well, at least we played an important part in Kanto's development. I can die happy knowing I did that." Henrik said with a small smile on his face as he swirled the contents of his glass lazily. "Now, no more little girls will need to die because Kanto does not have access to the best medical treatment."

"No more families will need to be torn apart because of unjust policies." Olwen agreed.

"People wouldn't need to be afraid of doing the right thing for their motherland. People will no longer be killed because they are working for their motherland's best interests." Arawn said with a sigh. "I can still remember it, SKIP's glorious days."

"Huh, sometimes I still have trouble believing that you are _that _old." Henrik glanced at Arawn.

"I'm not _that _old." Arawn snapped back. "I was only a kid when SKIP fell. Giovanni and Ariana took me in after they found me before the Indigo did. In fact, you are older than me, aren't you?!"

"Am I? Wait, how old am I this year again?"

"How can you forget your own age?!"

The lighthearted banter continued and I watched on, content to just listen. For the first time in my life, I have people that I can genuinely refer to as my friends. Like me, they are all criminals and they each undoubtedly have their own individual sad history from what little they let slip in the conversations. They had all definitely suffered under the Johtonian rule and this is what makes them so loyal to Team Rocket, because they are given a second chance to change things for the better through the organisation.

Like me, I'm sure that even they do not want another version of ourselves walking about in Kanto because of Kain's inability to make things right.

So this is what it feels like to have friends, huh? To have people who really cares about you and your opinions. It really is a pity that I will have to betray their trust in me.

It's times like this that I really wish that I'm not a spy.

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**


	14. Chapter 13- Decision

So small, so young, so fragile, so weak, so… _innocent_.

I'm the Rocket Exterminator. I'm someone whose very name strikes fear into everyone in the organisation that is not the Executives or Giovanni. I'm one of the most wanted criminals of Indigo for staging the attack on Johto National Park. Right now, said criminal is holding a baby in his arms, who is sucking on the criminal's fingers in the criminal's desperate attempt to stop him from crying and annoying the entire hideout with it.

Not what I'm expecting when Giovanni posted me here.

"I didn't take you to be the type that is good with children."

I turned my head to see Ariana, who had entered the hidden house within the secret Fuschia hideout where she and Silver were staying. Along with Mewtwo, she and her son are the targets that I am assigned to protect during my stay here.

"He's not noisy." I replied as I resigned to my fate and allowed Silver to continue sucking on my finger. He would just keep crying uncontrollably otherwise. Pacifiers just wouldn't work for some unexplainable obscure reason.

"You'll be surprised how often Silver woke me and Giovanni up in the middle of the night." Ariana laughed as she walked into the kitchen, presumably to prepare some baby formula or something. "It seems that Silver is very attached to you."

"Not sure if that is a good thing." I replied honestly. "Considering who I-"

"You are our friend, Plague." Ariana cut me off before I can continue. "A criminal you may be, but who isn't? If what we did is atrocious, what does that make the Indigo Government? And Kain? The only reason why they aren't prosecuted is because what they are doing is state-sponsored legal violence."

Ariana made her reappearance again, this time holding a freshly warmed bottle of milk for Silver. She sat down beside me as she placed the milk bottle on the table in front of us.

"You are a good man, Plague. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"_Me?_ A good man?" I scoffed. "Please, ma'am-"

_"Ariana."_

"Ariana." I corrected myself. "Nobody in Team Rocket is a good man."

"That's true, but I would rather trust a criminal riddled with constant nightmares than a supposed good man that never had one." Ariana put her foot down on this matter as she placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Giovanni and I had been in this underground business for more than two decades, Plague. We know a good man when we see one."

"If I'm such a good man in your eyes, why make me Executive? We are Team Rocket."

"Because we are fighting for Kanto." Ariana gave a small smile that obviously tried to hide how tired she is. I saw through it immediately. "Everything is for the greater good, because when we finally succeed, we will need good men like you to help Kanto stand up on her feet again, not criminals."

Those words rang in my ears once more.

_It's all for the greater good._

"I'll be frank with you, Ariana. I have no idea what is right or wrong anymore now that I learn of Team Rocket's true purpose." I confided in her without blowing my cover. "When I joined the organisation, it was because I don't have a choice. I rose up the ranks the way I did because I know I have to if I want to thrive in the underworld. I killed my conscience, my morals. Everything good in me _I killed it_. Now you and Leader are telling me that Team Rocket are… what? Freedom fighters? I don't even know what to think about this whole thing anymore. Why am I even a Rocket?"

"I read your history." Ariana commented as I started to feed baby Silver with the milk bottle. "Orphaned at a young age, left to fend for yourself on the streets. It was where you met Helen at Viridian and decided to join the organisation to get a better chance for survival. Do you want anyone else to go through the same things you did? Do you want anymore children to experience the same helplessness you did?"

"No." I replied immediately without hesitation. There's no way I will ever want any child to go through the same things Jane and I had been through. It's inhumane.

"Then we will have to do something to make things right, using _whatever it takes_." Ariana said as she leaned back onto the sofa we are sitting on. "So that people like you and me will never appear again. Even if it means damning ourselves for eternity, we will do it, because it is the right thing to do."

_The right thing to do?_

"Even if it means betraying the trust of the people who trusted you the most? Like how you and Leader went behind the backs of your former SKIP comrades to create Mewtwo? People like Professor Oak, Agatha, and Blaine?"

"If we have to, yes. I told you, whatever it takes." Ariana sighed before looking at Silver with a motherly gaze.

"Giovanni and I weren't expecting to have a child at all, to be honest. I mean, look at our age." Ariana stated as she tenderly stroked the top of Silver's head, who is still busy chugging down the contents of the milk bottle. Silver is only a few months old right now.

"I didn't know you were pregnant. I know this is a little late, but congratulations."

"Thank you." Ariana accepted my words. "I was already pregnant when I gave you the assignment to raid the facility housing the prehistoric pokemon. I was about two months in back then. I'm surprised you didn't say anything about my figure."

"I didn't think that you were pregnant, but I thought you looked a little more…" I gestured vaguely with my free hand, not wanting to say the 'F' word that would incite the righteous fury of every woman in the world.

"Fatter?"

"... Something along that line."

"My bump was a little small even for a pregnant woman." Ariana admitted. "It's dangerous for a woman my age to be pregnant. Giovanni and I were so afraid that I might miscarry."

"But you didn't. It must be hard to live with that fear for nine whole months."

"It is, but we pulled through. Giovanni and I always pulled through." Ariana nodded her head as she said that, her eyes still on her son. "That's why you will too. If even old timers like us can do it, then you can too."

"Whatever it takes." I whispered, my thoughts wandering to many other things that had been haunting my life till now.

"Whatever it takes." Ariana said softly. "Because it is the right thing to do. Even if the entire world turned their backs on us, this is the right thing to do, so we will do it. Unlike Giovanni, I wanted to just stop right there when SKIP was disbanded, but Giovanni cannot bring himself to put everything down. I'm his wife, so I will stand by him through thick or thin, come hell or high water. I'm glad I stood by him."

I looked away. If Jane was alive now, she would probably stand by me too.

"I'm glad we continued, even if part of me just wants to put everything down and live a normal life like anybody else." Ariana carried on, not privy to my inner thoughts. "Giovanni was right. Kain never cared about Kanto, he is Kanto's darkness. If we let him be, many Kantonians will suffer. If it wasn't for Team Rocket, the situation in Kanto would have been a lot worse. Even if it means betraying the trust of our SKIP comrades and picking up from where SKIP left off, it was the right thing to do at that time. Giovanni and I, we managed to do something for Kanto and her people by doing the right thing."

"I wish I had the same mental fortitude as you and Leader."

"You already possess it, Plague." Ariana chided playfully. "I think what you need right now is the right push. Don't think too much about it and just rest. Your body's condition is still unstable."

"I just want to live long enough to see Kain fall." I told Ariana the truth. "He must go. I want to see him fall and I want the world to know him for who he really is. I will make sure that he will be remembered for his deeds."

"Is that what you had been planning in your office all this time?" Ariana asked curiously.

"Yes." I nodded and burped Silver when he finished his meal. "The doctors want me to rest my body in the past five months, but that doesn't mean my mind needs to be idle. I have a plan that might work, to expose Kain for who he truly is to the world. I should be done with it in a week or two. I will need to run you and Leader through my plan for approval though."

"Now you have me hooked to whatever grand scheme you are cooking up." Ariana said in that usual sly manner that people in Team Rocket know her for. "Knowing you and your capabilities, I think Giovanni and I are in for a big surprise."

"It's a daring move, but definitely effective if done well." I admitted. "It will shake the world. Whether Indigo remains standing after this really depends on how good Lance is in keeping everyone together."

"You sound like you have a grudge against Kain."

"You are right, Kain is Kanto's darkness. If it wasn't for him, Helen and I wouldn't have needed to live such a life." I replied as I carefully handed Silver over to Ariana. "No offense to you, but if everyone had a choice, I think nobody would willingly choose to live their lives as a fugitive."

"None taken." Ariana replied as she cradled baby Silver in her arms. "Am I privy to the exact details why you hate Kain so much? That must be something that had happened before you joined the organisation, right?"

"Maybe one day, Ariana." I replied after some thought as I put my breton cap on my head once more, preparing to take my leave. "If I'm still alive to tell the tale by then."

"You will live to see our dreams come true." Ariana's words stopped me just as I was about to leave through the door. "Giovanni and I have given you our word that Team Rocket will do something about your condition. We will see it done, no matter what it takes, because you are our friend as well."

"I'm not sure if someone like me is qualified to be anybody's friend, Ariana." I spoke as I opened the door. "I stopped trusting anyone after I killed my only friend. Humans always lie."

"Do you hate Team Rocket?" Ariana asked softly. "For making you kill Helen?"

"Yes, and no." I gave my honest reply as I stepped through the door. It's hard not to be honest when the people you thought that you had hated the most actually become one of the few people that you want to trust right now, but couldn't.

At this critical juncture, I'm still hesitating. Nothing changed. I'm still a useless **_coward_**.

_What is the right thing to do? What is the greater good?_

"Funnily enough, you and Leader were the ones who gave me the most care and concern even if you two are technically criminals. The people standing on the side of justice never gave me any help when I needed it the most."

"Plague-" Ariana called out, a genuine worried tone in her voice.

"Right or wrong, good or evil, none of it matters anymore. I'm the Rocket's Exterminator. It's my job to get rid of anyone standing in the way of our organisation and I will do it without fail."

I turned around to look at Ariana, baby Silver still in her arms and sleeping contently after his meal.

An innocent child that is still a baby. To protect the innocent.

_This_, is the greater good.

"Whatever it takes, Ariana. I give you my word as the Rocket's Exterminator that Kain will fall."

And that Silver will live.

* * *

The top secret Fuchsia hideout is hidden in plain sight.

The Fuchsia Safari Zone. That place is actually secretly controlled by Team Rocket. The Safari Zone acts like a warehouse to temporarily store all of Team Rocket's illegally gotten pokemon. Given the nature of the Safari Zone even if any visitor trespassed to the prohibited areas, nobody would find it odd to see an exotic foreign pokemon from another region frolicking around there. It is the perfect place for Team Rocket to redistribute all their illegally gotten pokemon to the rest of their Kanto hideouts unnoticed.

The hideout where Mewtwo is created is located at the northern end of the Safari Zone. The hideout itself is located in the prohibited areas of the Safari Zone and very well hidden underground. It is where I am currently posted to and staying at.

I walked down the dimly lit stairs all the way to the basement where Mewtwo is currently being created. For the past five months since I was posted here, most of my time was spent thinking. I'm still hesitating, because I have no idea what is right or wrong, good or evil anymore. I had lost all sense of direction.

Everything that I thought was the truth from the start suddenly became a big fat lie.

Avenge Jane by killing Kain, the instigator behind this whole mess, and countless may die in my quest as I help Giovanni and Team Rocket conquer Johto and eventually the world. Help Indigo, and I can prevent a war that had not happened since five centuries ago but I will have to betray the few people who had chosen to trust a criminal like me without question. People who truly treated me as their friend.

What is wrong, and what is right? Do I go to the left, where nothing is right? Or do I go to the right, where nothing is left?

I never expect myself to hesitate at this very critical juncture. I'm the Rocket's Exterminator. I'm supposed to be heartless, merciless, emotionless. My only purpose was to avenge Jane and bring down Team Rocket, nothing else.

Now, even that purpose doesn't seem right anymore when I found out that Team Rocket isn't truly evil. Nothing is right. I know long ago that not everything is black and white as it seems but that does not help me in finding an answer or coming to a decision.

_What should I do? What is the right thing to do? What is the greater good?_

_What am I even fighting for?_

My best confidant, surprisingly, is Mewtwo itself, even if it does not have a complete body yet.

However, its mind is already functioning and Mewtwo is really not what I would expect it to be. At least in front of me, he has none of the violent disposition that I remembered from my past life. He's like a curious and hyperactive child, always wondering about the littlest of things. It reminds me a little of how Nosy was when I first met it. The little nosy parker is now a big nosy parker seeing that I evolved it into a porygon-z during my time here.

I know the Mewtwo from the games is supposed to be a violent creature. This Mewtwo here has close to no violent disposition. It's still untainted, still pure. It only reacts violently when insinuations of taking away its sense of self and freedom was mentioned. Avoid that topic and you can get along with it very well.

_'I see you have come to visit me again.'_

_'Was afraid you might be too lonely.'_ I replied through the telepathic link Mewtwo established within us.

According to Giovanni and the scientists here, even when they are its creators Mewtwo had never talked to them even once. That does not stop Giovanni from visiting Mewtwo regularly, persuading it to join his cause, trying to mold Mewtwo to his liking while Mewtwo is still impressionable. They know Mewtwo is 'alive', at least in mind because that is what their machines are telling them. The scan of Mewtwo's brain tells them enough to know that it already has the ability to listen, understand, learn, and make a reply.

However, it never attempted to talk to anyone so nobody could confirm if Mewtwo could indeed hear them until I came here. After learning Mewtwo's interest in me, Giovanni made it my job to help him persuade Mewtwo to join his cause. Giovanni is dead set on starting a war against Indigo and nobody can talk him out of it and for him to properly start a war, he first needs Mewtwo to be on his side. Taming Mewtwo is now Giovanni's top priority seeing that Mewtwo's physical birth is coming soon.

Right now, I am in the secret underground laboratory where Mewtwo is created. Mewtwo is in a huge cylindrical glass tank filled with some kind of translucent greenish liquid. About 95% of its body is complete. The left side of its body is still unfinished, it is still missing a hand and feet. Its eyes had never opened before, but sometimes I can spot the occasional twitching of its fingers on its right.

_'Welcome back, Jayce. Have you found your answer?'_

_'No.' _I replied as I took a seat on a nearby chair and watched Mewtwo float in the tank, attached to numerous tubes that is currently keeping it alive.

It was a big risk, but after much contemplation, I had allowed Mewtwo to read my mind when it asked for my permission during our first encounter. Mewtwo instantly knew all my secrets after that. My guess is that it was this action that earned me its trust.

Surprisingly, Mewtwo is very _polite_ when it counts, very different from my impression of it from the games. This Mewtwo that I am talking to actually _asked _for permission before trying to peer into my memories. It really, really isn't what I expect it to be.

_'I can sense your thoughts, you know? You must be saying something bad about me.'_

_'I'm thinking, not talking.'_

_'It's the same thing.' _Mewtwo replied. _'Nobody ever allowed me to read their minds for fear that if I do, I can complete my body on my own without their help. You are different.'_

_'Not like that had ever stopped you from reading their minds without permission.'_

_'At least I asked first, and I made sure that they never knew that I had already read their minds. I can be polite, at least in appearance. See? I am capable of learning. Besides, the scientists are still trying to figure out how to complete the missing 5% of me. Blaine and Fuji didn't leave anything behind about the very last part to make me complete, arguably the most crucial step in my creation. Smart move.'_

_'Have you ever considered that the reason I allowed you to read my mind was that it is because a dying man doesn't really care about whether you cooperate with him or not?'_

_'It's funny. I want to live, and yet you want to die.'_

_'It's a fitting end for a liar.'_

_'I don't understand. Why do you seek death when you might still have a chance to live? Why? I don't understand. There are many things in this world that I still don't understand. Can you teach me, Jayce?'_

_'I know what you mean.'_ I sighed as I stroked ninetales on the head as she rested by my side. _'I don't understand too. My whole life, what's it all about? I lied and deceived many others only to be lied and deceived in return. People always say to do the right thing, but what's the right thing?'_

_'You are asking advice from **me**? I will have you know that I'm technically still a foetus.'_

_'If you are this sassy in the foetus stage, I woe the day you become an adult.'_

_'Jayce?'_

_'Yes?'_

_'I've been thinking about something lately. I could read his mind, but I prefer to hear it from you. Tell me truthfully. If I don't cooperate with Giovanni, what does he intend to do with me?'_

_'He never told me.'_ I admitted. _'But if I have to make an educated guess based on what I know about him and what I remembered from before, he would very likely have a robotic suit made for the sole purpose of restraining and controlling you should you prove to be uncontrollable. The M2 Bind, I think he mentioned it in passing during my conversations with him.'_

_'Ah, please let me sieve through your memories.'_ There was a brief pause and I felt something invading my mind in a gentle manner. '_The grey-silver thing?'_

_'Be more specific. Grey-silver thing describes 90% of the things in here.'_

_'And you wonder where I get my sass from. It's you, Jayce.'_

_'Don't ever end up like me.'_

_'Even for a foetus psychic like me, your confusion and inner turmoil is as clear to me as the presence of the sun is in the sky.'_

_'You're lying. Stop Lying. Lying is bad. You've never seen the sun before.' _I gestured to the _underground _lab we are at now, the place where Mewtwo was created.

_'It's a metaphor.'_

_'Wait, you know what metaphor is?'_

_'I asked Giovanni when he last visited. He was starting to annoy me when he gave me another of those speeches to recruit me for his cause, so I told him to go screw himself. He was not amused.'_

_'Yeah, imagine trying to talk to the pokemon you have been trying to create for the past twenty years and the first thing it tells you is to go screw himself.'_ I rolled my eyes. So Mewtwo **_finally _**talked to Giovanni? Interesting.

_'I ended up asking what a metaphor is. You humans have such weird minds.'_

_'You are the weird one here.'_

_'I learned the phrase 'go screw yourself' from you. You want me to tell that to Giovanni?'_

_'Now that is blackmail.'_ I pointed an accusing finger at the incomplete pokemon in the tank. _'Good job, you are learning something new everyday.'_

_'You are the only one who allowed me to learn whatever I want instead of learning what others want me to learn.'_ Mewtwo replied. _'I really cannot wait for the day where I'll be born, where I can finally use my body and move around in it. I want to know everything, to learn everything, to see the truth of the world for myself. There's so much to learn.'_

_'Not everything outside is as pretty as it seems.'_

_'I know, I looked at your past. Is it wrong of me to say that I'm glad that you experienced all of that? Because if it wasn't for your past, you wouldn't be here now. If you weren't here now, I wouldn't have this pleasant conversation. Maybe I would really turn out like the violent pokemon you know of in your previous life.'_

_'Don't be sorry for me. The last thing I need is pity.'_ I replied, still stroking ninetales' head. The little lady had already drifted off to sleep while I'm having my mental conversation with Mewtwo.

_'If you don't mind me asking, what does being in the sun feel like?'_

_'Hot, warm. It really depends on whether you love the warmth and the light. Some people don't.'_

_'Hot? I know the definition of the word, but I don't know how it feels.'_

_'It makes you sweat. It can also be painful, the blistering kind.'_

_'Blisters?'_

_'Some small bubbles on your skin. Sometimes it's caused by heat, sometimes friction. It is painful when you touch or burst it.'_

_'The tip of my fingers, if the scan from my psychic powers are showing me the correct mental images, are like very big bubbles. Are those blisters?'_

_'No, I'm sure that's just your finger pads._' I replied patiently even if Mewtwo's question sounded like a stupid question to most. _'It's definitely not blisters.'_

_'That's an enlightening conversation. Now I know what blisters are.'_

_'Trust me, it is a blessing to not know what blisters are. They hurt like a bitch.'_

_'What is a bitch?'_

Oh fuck me.

_'Fuck me? What is-'_

Now he's reading my mind without permission.

_'Bad word. Don't say it.'_

_'Should I ask Giovanni then?'_

_'Please don't.'_

_'Then is it possible for you to help me inform him to stop giving me all those 'Save Kanto' speeches? I am my own person. I will do what I think is right, not what he thinks is right.'_

_'You are trying to blackmail me again.'_

_'Is it working? I'm still trying to learn how to blackmail properly.'_

_'Only a little. Try harder next time.'_

_'I cannot wait for the day when I can finally open my eyes and see how you really look like. I should at least know what my first friend looks like.'_

Like many other times before this conversation, Mewtwo abruptly changed the subject again. From my previous conversations with the psychic pokemon, I realised it has the habit of changing the topic of our conversations abruptly for no reason. It is a quirky side of it that I soon accepted after I somehow befriended it.

_'I didn't know you considered me as a friend.'_

_'You are the only one in this entire place who treated me as my own person.'_

_'Own person? You are a pokemon. Your sentence is now technically incorrect.'_

_'I know what you look like from my own psychic scan, but I still want to see it for myself with my own eyes.'_

_'I think you will be disappointed. There's nothing special about me at all.'_

_'I still want to know what it is like to be able to see. I want to be able to move. To touch, to smell, to hear, to talk. Everything, I want to learn it all.'_

_'I woe the day you are able to make audible noise. You are very talkative for a psychic.'_

_'How would you know? Your only psychic pokemon is exeggutor.'_

_'He's technically more than one because he has many heads.'_

_'Many heads? Is that possible? I'm sure I only have one.'_

_'Certain species of pokemon have more than one head. Like the doduo and dodrio species.'_

_'Interesting. I **must **meet one when I'm finally freed from the tank.'_

I cannot help but chuckle in amusement at the excitement I sensed in Mewtwo's thoughts. Such childish innocence for a supposedly violent pokemon.

If only it can stay that way forever.

_'Mewtwo?'_

_'Yes, Jayce?'_

_'Please don't change. Never change, Mewtwo.'_

_'Excuse me, but I do want to change. I want my body to be complete so that I can finally be born. Ah, the annoying one is back.'_

_'Giovanni?'_

_'Yes, that's what you call him by. Does he not realise that the more pushy he is, the more I want to flip him the finger? If I could move my fingers now, I would.'_

_'Please do not tell him that you learnt all the vulgarities from me.'_

_'Like I said, I'm learning how to blackmail effectively. Dark types don't play fair.'_

_'You are a psychic type.'_

_'Psychic type in mind, dark type at heart. Giovanni and the scientists gave me my body and mind, you gave me my heart and soul.'_

_'Brat.'_

_'Technically, I'm a foetus. Your sentence is now technically incorrect.'_

_'Oh, using my own words against me now?'_

_'Was it effective? I'm still learning.'_

_'I was wondering where you learn the 'annoying people 101' from. Since it wasn't me, it must be Giovanni. He's the only other person to talk to you.'_

_'Yes, must be Giovanni. Let me tell him that too.'_

_'Now that's blackmail, again.'_

_'Was it effective?'_

_'I'm not talking to you anymore.'_

_'But then I will be lonely. I've been floating here for the past two decades.'_

_'Your mind's only born last month. So technically, you have only been born for a month, not two decades ago.'_

_'I'm trying to guilt trip you. I guess that it wasn't very effective.'_

_'Yeah. Try harder next time.'_

"Talking to Mewtwo again, Plague?"

Giovanni's voice got me to turn around. I stood up from my chair and gave him my salute.

"Yes, Sir. Mewtwo's been talkative lately."

_'You change your demeanour so swiftly that it astounds me. Can you teach me how to do that?'_

"Oh?" Giovanni chuckled as he walked up to look at Mewtwo, whose body is still floating in the tank with tubes attached to it. "What's Mewtwo talking about now?"

_'Technically, I'm not talking, I'm relaying my thoughts using a telepathic link. My mouth isn't moving, is it? Why is this annoying one so dumb?'_

"Talking about his mouth." I informed Giovanni dutifully. "He's curious about everything."

_'Not everything. I'm definitely not curious about his whole God Save the World plan. I am not just some mere experiment to be born and used by the whims of man. **I am Mewtwo**, I am my own being. I saw your past, Jayce. I am now certain that I don't want to be controlled like a puppet. I don't want to suffer the same fate you did. I-'_

_'If you want to learn to be a dark type by heart, then you need to stop being so agitated the moment something rubs you the wrong way. Learn how to control your emotions and conceal them. You are easier to exploit if you let your emotions dictate your actions. You are a psychic, let your rational mind do the thinking, not your irrational instincts.'_

_'Ah, I was impulsive. Thank you for the kind advice, Jayce, I will take it to heart.'_

"I guess it's natural for a psychic like Mewtwo to be curious about everything." Giovanni carried on talking, not knowing about the secret telepathic conversation Mewtwo and I are having behind his back. "Is he curious about Team Rocket?"

_'No.'_

"Yes, Sir."

_'You're lying. Stop lying. Lying is bad.'_

_'I have to. Do you want him to terminate your birth?'_

_'Even in my incomplete state, I'm not scared of him.'_

"Which part of Team Rocket is he curious about?" Giovanni asked as he turned to face me, a look of genuine curiosity on his face.

"About the people here who are responsible for creating him." I lied before telling him a truth. "Mewtwo is eager to be born."

_'So that I can hurry and make my great escape. Oh, oh! Do you know what I just learnt to do from reading your memories, Jayce? Let me show you. Throw it away~ Forget yesterday~ We'll make the great~ es~cape~'_

What. A _singing _Mewtwo?

_'Of **all **the things you have to learn when reading about my past life, **this **is the one that you learnt? And since when can you **sing**?'_

**_'Why _**_couldn't I sing? I'm my own pokemon. What's that song again?'_ Mewtwo took a brief pause before answering his own question. '_This is me. Oh-oh-ohhhh-oh.'_

"Plague?" Giovanni asked in concern when he realised that my attention is on Mewtwo and not on him. "What's wrong?"

"Mewtwo's… singing." I finished lamely, not believing in what I had helped create. This is _not _what I'm expecting when I found myself face-to-face with the man-made legendary pokemon.

I certainly did not teach it how to sing, even if just mentally.

_'I think I now know why you and Jane love music so much. I should have tried this earlier, it is fun. Hey, tell the annoying one that I will tolerate his presence if he plays some music for me right here. It's boring here because I'm Alll~ BYYYY~MYYYY~SELFFFFFF~~'_

What. The. Fuck. Now that's definitely Celine Dion.

"Sir, Mewtwo says he wants to hear… some music." I tried my best not to facepalm as I reported truthfully, because Giovanni had said that he wanted to know **_everything _**that I had conversed with Mewtwo after he learnt that Mewtwo had chosen to talk to me instead of the people who helped create it. I didn't tell Giovanni the truth behind most of our conversations because of the nature of my spy mission, but I have to tell him _something_.

I'm currently too mindfucked to think of a convincing lie to hide the fact that Mewtwo is currently _singing_. So, the truth it is. You know what? I'll just let Giovanni handle Mewtwo's brand of crazy. He had a hand in creating Mewtwo after all.

"... Music?" Giovanni asked very slowly, as if wanting to make sure that he did not hear wrongly.

"Yes, Sir." I replied, hoping that Giovanni wouldn't blow his top. "Mewtwo is suddenly interested in music. It is interested in learning everything. Before you arrived it was trying to learn how to blackmail others. Music is now suddenly its current area of interest."

"When I started this project to create the ultimate pokemon, I wasn't expecting for it to be a goofy idiot." Giovanni did what I couldn't in his presence and facepalmed. "If it isn't even interested in helping Team Rocket or to defend Kanto, then as much as I hate to admit this, there's no point in having it around."

_'Does he mean to terminate me? **ME?!**'_

_'Calm down. Remember what I said.'_

"He's stopped singing." I immediately spoke up. "I think his mind had developed enough to know when not to fool around."

_'I wasn't **fooling **around. I was enjoying myself.'_

_'Just shut up and let me handle it. Do you want to die before you are born?'_

"I'll let this immaturity slide for now, considering that Mewtwo's mind had only recently been born and is technically an infant." Giovanni instructed with a serious look on his face. "The Mewtwo Project **_cannot _**be a failure. Make it clear to Mewtwo about its true purpose, about its true duty. Mewtwo is important to Team Rocket and to Kanto. Make sure it knows that."

"Yes, Sir."

_'No one is my master. I'm my own pokemon. This is me. Oh-oh-'_

**_'Stop _**_singing. Do you want to die before you are born?!'_

_'It's not like he can hear me!'_

Thankfully, Giovanni turned on his heels and left, presumably to visit his wife and son. I let out a sigh of relief when he disappeared out of sight through the doors of the lab.

_'I wanna see you out that door~ Baby, bye, bye, bye~'_

I facepalmed when Mewtwo started singing another song from my past life again.

_'Mewtwo. Please.'_

_'I'm starting to think this is a very good way to blackmail you. Blackmail through annoyance. Was it effective?'_

_'Yes.' _I mentally gritted out with my hands over my face at the incredulity of the situation. An overly curious Mewtwo? I can accept that. A goofy, singing Mewtwo?** What the hell?!**

_'I almost landed myself in big trouble because of you.'_ I told Mewtwo in annoyance. _'Happy now?'_

_'Very. Because I'm happy~ Clap along if you feel- Wait, I can't clap right now. I only have one hand and three fingers. My other hand is still incomplete.'_

_'Look, at least **act** interested in what Giovanni is trying to tell you about until you are physically born.' _I try to help the still innocently ignorant Mewtwo the only way I know how, because I don't want this pokemon to lead the life I led, to be controlled by another for the rest of its life. I don't want Mewtwo to be a puppet like what I was, being controlled by invisible strings and dancing in the palm of someone else with no way out.

_'Why should I? I'm my own pokemon. This-'_

_'Say This is Me one more time and I'm out of here. I'm serious.'_

Mewtwo finally dropped his goofy silly act.

_'I was trying to cheer you up seeing how down you were. Maybe I need to think of a better way to go about doing it the next time.' _

I blinked my eyes. Mewtwo tried to do **_what _**for me?

'_There's no need to be so surprised, Jayce. Is it so weird to think that I am capable of compassion? Is it so wrong for me to show some compassion to the only human I have met thus far who tried to really understand me as who I really am, not what I am?' _

_'No, but right now-' _

_'You want me to fool Giovanni in thinking that I'm on his side until I have the ability to escape from his grasp?'_ Mewtwo read my mind once more. '_I know that and I appreciate the sentiment, Jayce. Problem is, **why **should I when I can simply kill him now with just a thought? Why should I when I can kill every single occupant here without moving a single finger?'_

Wait, what? He can do **_what _**now?

_'Please do not forget that I am a psychic, Jayce. I do not need to physically move to kill others. The only reason why I'm not doing that is because I still need them for my physical birth to be possible, and also because I don't feel like committing violent acts... **yet**. Like my progenitor, I am not a fan of senseless violence. At least, not currently. I do not know if this belief of mine will change in the future.'_

_'Wait.'_ My mind halted when Mewtwo told me that new information. _'Your psychic powers had grown enough to be capable of remotely killing anyone here?'_

_'Surprised? I only told you this tidbit of information because you are the only one here who is genuinely kind to me, Jayce. I told you, I am psychic in mind, dark type by heart. The little bit of wisdom I currently have, I learnt it from you. The cunning aspects of me, I learnt it from you. A lot of things that I learnt since my mind was born a month ago, I learnt it from **you**. The scientists may have created me in the physical sense, but it was **you **who gave me a soul and heart.'_

_'I didn't teach you how to sing.'_

_'You don't need to, but I still learnt how by watching your memories. Enough about me, what about you?'_

_'Me?'_

_'I'm making my great escape the moment the scientists complete my physical body, but what about you? What about your mission? Your revenge? Do you still plan to die? I think being able to live is great, even if I'm not the most qualified to give any advice since I'm currently only one month and eight days old. What I do know for certain is that I'll definitely be sad if you die.'_

_'I may not have a choice. You know about my body's state.'_

_'The side effects brought about by Mega Evolution? I wonder if I'll be able to achieve Mega Evolution?'_

_'It's dangerous to attempt it, so don't.'_

_'Just as how it is dangerous for you to be a double agent, but is it stopping you? If I have to give you a word of advice, Jayce. It may not be the best advice since I'm only one month, eight days, and 16 hours old, but it is still advice. You want to hear it?'_

_'You know my ears are always listening.'_

_'Technically, I'm speaking directly to your mind, so your ears are not need-'_

**_'Mewtwo_**_.'_

_'Fine. Someone can't take a joke, I get it.'_ I can somehow feel Mewtwo literally rolling his eyes even if he's not physically capable of that action right now. _'But Jayce? Just do what you want. You are your own person. You have many identities and also none at all, but you are still you. Jane gave you a name, no? She must have known how hard it is to live without a name to call your own, so she gave you an identity. She's kind.'_

_'She is.'_

_'So don't spit on her kindness. Try to live for her sake. Forget about Kain, Team Rocket, and getting revenge for all 358 operatives. Think about yourself for once.'_

_'If I only think about myself, Indigo will be sunk deep in war. I hate the state of the world but a war is not what I wish upon it. If war happens, many more Janes and Jayces will be born. I don't want to be the one that is responsible for creating many more people like us. If I can stop a war, I **will** stop it. I'm just not sure how to do it alone.'_

_'Then get help.'_

_'From who? There's no one I trust out there.'_

_'Do you trust me?'_

_'I do.'_ I replied immediately as my hand subconsciously went out to touch the glass tank. I would trust pokemon over humans anytime.

This Mewtwo is not the same one I remember about in my previous life. This Mewtwo is still young, still untainted, still innocent.

It also deserves a chance to live.

If I can help save it, I will, because this is the right thing to do. I don't want anybody else, human or pokemon, to be anyone's mindless tool again. For once, I want to do what **_I_** think is right, not what other people think is right.

_'Then let me help you. I may not be capable of physical movement yet, but my mind is strong. My psychic powers is unrivalled. Let me into your mind and allow me to share your senses. With this, I can see what you see and hear what you hear. You will be a physical extension of me, and I will help you as you did for me.'_

_'Bold of you to make the claim that your psychic powers are unrivalled.'_

_'Bold of you to trust me with your mind, and you do so anyway.'_

_'I have nothing else to lose.'_

_'You are wrong. Look beside you.' _

I turned my head, spotting ninetales looking up at me.

_'They are with you too, so don't say that you have nothing else to lose.'_

_'Fair point.'_ I let ninetales nuzzle my hand when she does so to comfort me. Never thought that I would be reprimanded by a one month old pokemon.

It's like my years of living had been wasted.

I felt another presence in my mind taking residence in it. Mewtwo must have established a psychic link between us, one stronger than just a mental telepathic connection.

_'Now, as per what I had just read in your mind, I suggest that we start to work in bringing this entire show to a close, shall we? It's what you had been planning to do anyway. First of all, let us make haste and find a way to leave this place without raising any suspicion. Quick, let's go! Onwards to the surface!'_

I rolled my eyes at the last sentence. Mewtwo is still not capable of spinning a good enough lie to fool me.

_'You just want to use me as a medium to help you experience what it is like to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the things outside. Don't think I didn't realise that.'_

_'Darn, I got found out. I still need to learn.'_

_'That you do. Try harder next time.'_

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**


	15. Chapter 14- Shifting Gears

"So this is the plan you have?"

"Yes sir." I said as I stood at attention across Giovanni, who was sitting behind his office desk and perusing the proposal that I had drafted to take Kain down once and for all.

I had thought long and hard about it. Kain definitely has to be removed _permanently _for all the shit he had done in the name of the greater good, but it is impossible to do so through legal means. In that case, then I will use Team Rocket to do so. I will eliminate that bastard as a member of Team Rocket. I'm the perfect candidate as the Rocket's Exterminator. Furthermore, Kain would never suspect me of betraying him because he is under the assumption that the mental suggestion implanted in my mind is still there. He still thinks that I am under his complete control.

Of course, that last tidbit of information is only known to me and my pokemon. I truly sympathise with Giovanni, but I still did not manage to bring myself to agree with him in starting a war against Johto and subsequently the entire world.

I just don't want innocents to die. All I want is to not have people like me to appear anymore. To protect the innocents, that should be the greater good. So, this became my new goal to strive and work for in order to not let Jane's sacrifice be in vain, to not let the sacrifices of all 358 operatives be in vain.

Hence, I will have to take Giovanni down as well no matter how nice he had been to me. However, that can only be done once the meddling bastard known as Kain Briggs has been eliminated. Not only that, Giovanni and every single Executive of Team Rocket must be taken down or locked behind bars for good. To start on a fresh slate, everything must be wiped clean. I don't have any other choice if I do not want history to repeat itself.

If my plan to doublecross Kain and Team Rocket works, the only innocent implicated in this entire mess will be baby Silver, who will grow up without ever knowing what it's like to live under the loving care of his parents.

"It's… so ridiculously daring and risky that it's _brilliant_." Giovanni commented after reading through my proposal. "But with this, the _whole world_ will be against Kain in just one single move. Like you said, it is a crazy plan, but a workable one because Team Rocket does have the necessary tools to pull this off. The only thing we would need to prepare is an army of porygons, which we already have."

Giovanni stood up from his seat and paced about agitatedly in thought.

"I'll be discussing your plan with Ariana and the other Executives, but I don't think they will disagree. We can make this work and dethrone Kain for good. If this is successful, Indigo will be thrown into chaos. Kantonians will definitely start to push for Kanto's separation from Indigo with immediate effect. Indigo will be caught totally unaware and it won't be a surprise to anyone if Kain was suddenly found dead from a successful assassination attempt, because everybody will be hating him once his entire dirty linen is exposed for the world to see."

"If it's possible, I would like to be the one to assassinate Kain, Sir."

"If Ariana and the three of them agree to your plan, then you will have the honour of doing it, Plague." Giovanni nodded in agreement, obviously still a little distracted from mentally weighing the pros and cons of my proposed plan to not only eliminate Kain and his lackeys, but also push Team Rocket's agenda forward in a very aggressive manner that will bear immediate results.

To Team Rocket, it will be a win-win situation. I have confidence that Giovanni and the other Executives will agree to it.

Secretly, this plan will also help me to stop Team Rocket. With Kain and his followers gone, so will his meddling with the League. Lance will then have greater freedom and authority over Indigo to do what is right. If all goes according to plan, the full might of the Indigo League will swiftly eliminate Team Rocket for good without Giovanni even realising how he got found out. This is also a win-win situation to me as well.

That is, if the League is willing to cooperate and trust a mysterious informant which they had never met before and will never see. It will be on my part to gain Lance's complete trust without ever showing myself.

I am too weak to do anything about Kain or Giovanni on my own. So, I will use Team Rocket to remove the blight known as Kain Briggs, then I will use the Indigo League to remove the cancer known as Team Rocket.

After that, I can finally be free.

* * *

They are here again.

Houndoom tried his best to provide his trainer some comfort as they visited Jane's grave again. About a week ago, the new pokemon called Mewtwo had managed to persuade Jayce to seek external help to stop the mess that is about to explode in everyone's faces.

Giovanni is not easy to fool. The only reason why they are out of the Fuschia hideout right now is because Jayce is sent on a mission once more, a mission that only he can complete. They have to find someone by the name of Fuji, whoever that is.

The first thing Jayce did after he got out of Fuchsia was to come here to visit Jane.

After they are done visiting Jane here, they would go and do what they need to do to finally bring everything to an end. With Mewtwo by their side, their firepower had drastically increased. It doesn't matter if Mewtwo is part of their team or not or if it is a "completed" pokemon. At least Mewtwo is certain that it doesn't want to side with Giovanni. That alone is enough in their books.

Jayce said that they had almost everything they needed to see their hard work finally coming to fruition. Once their plan is complete, then they would be finally free.

"-you didn't see what we did, right? It's going to be the best concert ever, I tell you. The star of the show will obviously be that bastard himself. He still doesn't know it. No one knows. The entire cabinet of ministers and whatever stupid politicians, the whole lot of them, are already under our thumb. I made sure to visit every single one of them. You should really see how gengar enjoyed herself with all those Hypnosis."

Ah, yes. Ever since his enlightening conversation with Mewtwo, Jayce had stopped hesitating and decided to go through with what he thinks is right. Houndoom could still remember how Jayce vindictively controlled the entire group of evil humans with just a single helper. Gengar was thrilled at being assigned the job of being a key player that is vital to enact Jayce's plan for revenge.

All for Jane.

"Right, I was too ahead of myself. My bad. I forgot how you wouldn't know what I did when I haven't explained it to you. Let me explain my grand masterplan from the top, okay? It's going to be epic, I promise. All we need to do is to just watch. It will be the best concert ever. No one will ever forget it. You should watch it from wherever you are, I won't accept any objections."

There was the faint sound of leaves rustling.

"I hate the Government and I hate the Rockets, you already know that. Since they are both too big to be taken down by myself, so I thought: Why not let them take each other down? Sounds like a good plan, right?"

Best plan ever, in houndoom's opinion.

"Now that I am an Executive, I am allowed to meet with Giovanni, and he seems to really like me from how often we had been meeting. I always give him the best ideas. I'm easily his favourite right now after I presented him my grand plan to eliminate Kain. You know what? I just managed to convince Giovanni to let me single handedly take down the entire ruling body of the Government, Kain and his useless lackeys. Giovanni even gave me permission to use his cyber army of porygons if I need to because my plan is just that good and vindictive. Kain will be served with a cold plate of karma. Giovanni wants to use me to free Kanto. He just doesn't know that I am also using him."

There was the brief sound of laughter that came from Jayce. One that is mixed with sadness, insanity, and joy.

"Kain will be the first to go. I really cannot stand seeing that bastard breathing the same air as we did for even a second longer. I'll make sure that everything he loved and cherished will be destroyed by his own two hands. I want to see him witness everything crumble into nothing while the only thing he can do is to just watch. I want to make him realise that why everything is crumbling down in the first place is because of his actions. That will be the only thing in his mind when I finally end him, at the very moment when he is at his lowest. That will be the best punishment for him since he thinks he can control _everything_. So I will take away all sense of control from him."

Jayce's right. The only one who can play God is Arceus itself.

"I want to see him suffer, to see him squirm. And then houndoom and gengar can play with him. Mewtwo is also willing to help me. Everything will be broadcast on TV during National Day, which is coming soon in about two months time. If all goes well, maybe the former members of SKIP will be involved too. All the key players will be involved. The stage has been set. It's time to settle everything once and for all, this endless cycle of grudges from the past to the present. It's time to put everything to a stop."

Behind them, the rest of the team are lazing about peacefully, also listening in. Zoroark is obviously very interested in their trainer's grand plan because of his own personal interests, but opted to listen silently. Ninetales lay by Jayce's side, using her own body heat to remind him that she is always with him and that he is not alone.

"Team Rocket will strike, of course. Even Giovanni will finally throw caution to the wind once the current Government and Kain is gone. No doubt he will finally let Team Rocket climb out of the cracks, swarming out faster than beedrills coming out from their hives. That will just be a little intermission for a short while. With the entire Government gone, the League will have to step in. It will be then that **_I_** step in to ensure that the second half of the concert starts on time."

Houndoom vaguely remembers Jayce saying that starting the second part will be the tricky one.

"Giovanni isn't evil, not truly. He's a good man in his own way but he needs to disappear if we don't want the innocents to be implicated. I even feel sorry for him because in many ways, we are actually alike. We both have lives weighing on our shoulders and that is what is pushing us on. This is Kain's fault. Everything is always somehow his fault. What's new?"

Houndoom gave a soft snort. Yeah, what's new?

"I have to eliminate Kain and I have to stop Giovanni. So, just like I had used Team Rocket to take down the Government, I will use the League to take down Team Rocket. Giovanni won't know what hit him. I checked on every single Thirteen Pillar of the Indigo League, both regions. All of them came out clean except for Giovanni, so I can trust them to do their job properly. Isn't it reassuring, that there are still righteous people in Indigo? Hopefully, they can right the wrongs that Kain and Giovanni started. Although I wished that they had stopped this entire fiasco even _before _it started. We wouldn't have needed to lead this kind of life if they had done their jobs properly."

The Thirteen Pillars are supposed to be the strongest trainers a region has to offer. Houndoom cannot help but think where his team, his _family_, however broken it is, stands among the people and pokemon who represent the pinnacle. Maybe after their quest for revenge is over Jayce can bring them around the world, finally experiencing what it is like to be a normal pokemon under the care of a normal trainer. Going on adventures, winning badges. No more senseless killings and violence.

Sounds like a nice life to live if they do survive everything Jayce had planned.

"The moment Giovanni thought that he had it all, I will send him crashing back down. Think about it, the full might of the League against the full might of Team Rocket. Classic Good vs Evil. Wouldn't that be a very interesting story to read? Just imagine the finale. Lance vs Giovanni. Now **_that _**is a fight that I will pay to watch. Pity I wouldn't be there but eh, Nosy can help me record everything. I can watch it with you here after everything is said and done."

That is a nice sentiment. Jane should be here to watch it with them.

"I don't know how much longer I have it in me to live after everything is over, if I can even come out alive after everything is said and done." Houndoom heard Jayce give a sigh, prompting him to look at his trainer in concern. "Maybe a year or two. Maybe more, maybe less. I don't know. I don't even know if I want to find a cure or to even use it if there is actually a cure to be found. I don't think I deserve such a thing as forgiveness. I had killed too many. I'm an anomaly. Someone like me shouldn't have existed in the first place anyway."

Houndoom's gaze shifted to where gengar is partially hidden in the shadows.

_'You hear that?'_

_'You think I'm deaf?'_ Gengar scoffed. '_Idiot wants to seek death again. What's new?'_

_'So **our **plan is still the same, right?'_

_'Of course.' _Gengar replied as she began to float around them aimlessly as Jayce continued to speak to Jane. _'Once Jayce and us bring down those evil humans, we search through our own broken memories and try our best to contact… whatever their names were. Damn Hypnosis was being used on us too. Pretty sure Jane wasn't from Azalea like she thought she was but for Arceus' sake I really cannot remember just **where **she and us originally came from. Hell, which human thought it was a good idea to give a **ghost **like me to a human child? Jane's lucky that I liked her when she was still young.'_

'_I just remember that Jane's family definitely had some influence among humans.' _Houndoom agreed._ 'Might be why she was taken away from her home to be a spy in the first place. Stupid human power play at work, everyone trying to be alpha.'_

Jayce wasn't the only one to have Hypnosis used on him to alter his memories prior to him being a spy, houndoom and gengar knew that Hypnosis has also been used on _them _too because their memories from before they got involved in this whole spy gig were extremely muddled, and they were with Jane even before she got sucked into this mess as a child. However, their own memories from before are so botched up and muddled that gengar is starting to suspect that it is beyond repair. They just haven't got around to tell Jayce about it because it would affect _their _own plans.

No, it is better if Jayce doesn't know about their own circumstances for now. He would get sidetracked and worry too much about them. Jayce cannot afford to be distracted right now, not when everything is finally coming to an end. It's better this way.

No way the two of them are going to let Jayce die like that. Firstly, Jane would be **_mad_**. None of them wants Jane to be mad at them because she's scary when she's mad. Even dragons cower at her glare. Jane had given them an absolute order, a plea, begging them to protect him with everything they have. Begging the two of them to keep him happy and making sure that he never found out about the truth, the truth that they can never tell Jayce so that he can remain sane.

It sucks to lie to Jayce, but they want to honour Jane's last wish.

Secondly, Jayce deserves at least a chance to be happy for once. To be truly happy. Even the weirdo psychic pokemon that is Mewtwo agrees with them as well. Mewtwo is still too inexperienced with its powers to help them with their endeavour to recover their memories, but maybe it could do so after it has more knowledge on how to handle its own powers.

The only thing houndoom and gengar are sure of is that Jane came from a family with some influence among humans. Houndoom's own memory is really kind of spotty now, but he is sure that said influence is not anything trivial. He is sure that Jane's family, if they are still around, has **_a lot _**of power. At the very least, he is sure that there are one or two humans in her family who are **_powerful_**. Alphas among alphas. That is the one thing that he definitely remembers.

If anyone can save Jayce from his mysterious illness, it will be them. _Hopefully _they are still around. _Hopefully _they will agree to help them save Jayce. _Hopefully _Jayce will listen to them because they are Jane's family. _Hopefully _a cure can be found.

Everything is a big what-if at this point.

How he and gengar actually came to be by Jane's side even before she became a spy is still a work of progress for them. They are still searching through their own memories, looking for the answers with exeggutor's help or sometimes help that came even from Mewtwo itself. Keeping their own plans from Jayce is harder than it seems because he always seems to understand them, but they made it work somehow.

Everyone on the team is in on the plan. Nosy will be another important player because of his ability to simply know everything. If searching through their memories fails, then they can only rely on Nosy to find Jane's family _somehow_. Even the crazy dragon on their team is in on it, and that's saying something because no one understands a single word hydreigon says whenever it opens any of its three mouths. They are not even sure that hydreigon is capable of coherent speech or if it even understands them.

How in Giratina's name Jayce and hydreigon can understand each other is the world's biggest mystery.

_'You think Jayce will allow me to eat the head of that Kain human when we finally get to that point?'_

_'Don't be stupid.'_ Houndoom let out a snort at gengar's words as he laid his head down on his paws to continue his rest, always making sure that he is by Jayce's side like Jane had asked him to. It is a request that he and gengar will see to the very end.

_'There definitely won't be any objections.' _Houndoom murmured as he let the sound of Jayce's conversation with Jane lull him to sleep._ 'Just leave me some of his bones to munch on when you are done with him.'_

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**


	16. Chapter 15- Unseen Current

"How can I help you, sir?"

"The usual, but this time, there's no need for sugar in my coffee."

The waiter in the unassuming café that I am visiting, who in actuality is an agent working for the League, asked for confirmation once again.

"No sugar, sir?"

"No sugar." I confirmed. "And please hurry, I am in a rush for time. I am about to be late for work." I said as I tapped on my watch a set number of times in a specific rhythm, a secret code that we League agents use among many others that I had applied in the short conversation I have with him. He now knows that whatever information I need to pass on to the higher-ups, it is extremely important. This is urgent.

I'm only here because it's about time for Kain and I to have one of our regular meetups where I tell him what I found out during the time period that we didn't meet. I have mixed feelings about this meeting because of what I now know about Kain. I know that he indeed wants to try and improve Indigo in his own twisted way, even if it has backfired in the worst possible manner in the form of Team Rocket.

At this critical juncture, I don't know why I'm still hesitating a little when it comes to my plan regarding Kain. All I know is that I want to be absolutely sure before committing everything I have to go through with _my _plan, so I guess this meeting came at just the right time. If possible, I just want to see what Kain really feels about what he had done, so that I know if I had made the right choice.

Above all, I just want to see if I have the resolve to go through what I am planning to do. This meeting is also here to falsely feed him some wrong information to throw him off his guard and if possible, learn something new about him that I never thought about finding out before.

"Of course. Please come with me, sir. I will show you to your table."

I was led to a small private room at the far back of the small café. The waiter gestured for me to take a seat, which I did. Minutes later, the Chairman of the Indigo League, Kain Briggs, walked in and I stood up and gave my salute. It is only the two of us here right now. Just me and the white-haired old man in his sixties who first started me on the path of becoming a spy.

"Sir."

"2046." The Chairman gave me a nod which signalled to me to stand at ease. "It has been a long time. Anything new to report?"

"I have been promoted to Executive. The leader will be meeting me. I don't know when, it could be tomorrow or even months later, but I am guaranteed a meeting with him." I got straight to the point and cut the useless banter short by telling him a mixture of lies mixed with some elements of truth. I wasn't lying when I told the waiter earlier that I am in a rush for time. I have a mission from Giovanni to complete and he would get suspicious if I took too long, even if I do have more than a week to get the job done.

"I will be meeting the leader of Team Rocket, whoever he or she is. However, what I need to tell you is that I had just learnt from Petrel about a project that Team Rocket has been embarking on a few years back. The Mewtwo Project."

"Mewtwo Project?" The aged Chairman asked in puzzlement as he took a seat. "I supposed it has something to do with the legendary Mew, given the name."

"Team Rocket is trying to create a new pokemon based on Mew's DNA." I continued my report as I spun my tale. "They are trying to create a new pokemon capable of going toe-to-toe even against legendaries like Zapdos or Moltres. However, that is the extent that I know about this project. This project is not under my jurisdiction and the leader had made it clear that only those he authorises are allowed to know the details. I am not one of them. The number of people who knew about this numbered to less than ten, excluding the scientists. If we add them in, then it should number to about twenty people in total."

"You _need_ to find out more about this, 2046." The Chairman stressed as he looked visibly shocked at the news I just dropped on him. "If Team Rocket has a pokemon on the level of a legendary, they will be unstoppable. Do whatever it takes to delay or stop this project completely. Also, find out about the true identity of Team Rocket's leader ASAP."

"It will be done." The four words that I had grown to hate speaking came out again. "But sir, this matter is way out of our expertise and jurisdiction. Something like this should be handled by the League instead. I still think that we need to inform Lance about thi-"

"There's no need to inform that naive and foolish warmonger." Kain waved my comments off without even trying to listen. "We don't need people like him. We need people like _you_, 2046."

"But he's the_ Indigo Champion._ Surely he is more qualified and more knowledgeable in taking down-"

"The Pokemon League is nothing but an organisation set up to regulate deathmatches between pokemon and their trainers. It is an organisation ruled and composed solely of foolish warmongers that think of nothing but their own pleasures." Kain scoffed as he said this. "There's nothing and nobody intelligent to be found there. In the end, pokemon and their trainers who indulge these creatures in such mindless battles are just savage and bloodthirsty fools. If you look back on the history of every region's Pokemon League in the world, they were set up because fights to the death between trained pokemon were becoming too common and something had to be done about it. The Pokemon League is nothing but an instrument to control trainers using a set of rules and regulations. We only need those fools known as trainers if we need an army. Other than that? Just let them be. Pokemon are only useful to us as much as they are loyal to our cause."

The Chairman stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder in what he thinks is an encouraging manner.

"Talented operatives like you, on the other hand, are rare to come by. Don't you see the peace that was maintained thanks to your help? Look back and see how many people and pokemon that you had helped saved, think about-"

"At the cost of many other people and pokemon that I had condemned with my own two hands!" I exploded as all my repressed emotions and thoughts about my line of work erupted like a volcano. "**_You_** weren't the one who have to personally put the pokemon down! The ones who the Rockets' scientists deemed as failed experiments! **_You_** weren't the one who have no choice but to stand and watch as the Rockets killed people and pokemon alike, because MY COVER CANNOT BE BLOWN! And for what? _The greater good?_ Hah!"

I paced about agitatedly before turning towards the Chairman again.

"I am _sick_ of this, sir. _Sick_ of living the life of a double agent. _Sick_ of being a spy, all because of the _greater good_."

Kain let out a long sigh.

"Maybe not now, but you will see the things that I see someday, that this is the best way to protect Indigo. This is all for the greater good."

"And **_what _**exactly, to **_you_**, is the _greater good?_"

"The peace and safety of Indigo as a whole. To create a place where people need not fear being born different." Kain replied as if it is the most obvious thing in the world. "Even if it means lifting up one side of the spectrum at the expense of the other, as long as Indigo as a whole can prosper then it is the right thing to do. I will simply use the benefits reaped from the prosperity to help those who were exploited."

"You are telling me that you just admitted to exploiting Kanto and its people, and then letting Johto profit through such exploitations." I said in utter disbelief. At least this time, he's being honest. "Isn't that what you were trying to prevent? Rooting out all the corrupt Johtonians in your cabinet?"

"They are corrupt because they exploit Kanto for their **own **gains, it's different." Kain defended his argument with righteousness as he said this. "**_I'm_** different. Whatever Indigo had profited through this exploitation, I directed a large part of it back to the bottom to help the exploited people back up on their feet. Yes, Johto did get a larger share of Indigo's fruits of labour under this method but in the end, Kanto always received what they rightfully deserved. As a result, Indigo as a whole had prospered. It's a win-win situation. It's all for the greater good."

"That doesn't justify the exploitation you subjected Kantonians to."

"Look, it is impossible to please _both _Kanto and Johto." Kain cut me off with a look of warning. "I don't expect you to understand because **_I_** am the expert here when it comes to governance, but if I tried to please both regions, they will just end up economically cannibalizing each other. It's _not _sustainable. When that happens, war in Indigo will break out once more."

"How would you know that will happen if you never even tried?"

"I don't need to try. That outcome is as obvious to me as day is to night if you looked back at Indigo's past." Kain scoffed. "Every single of my predecessors had tried to please _both _regions and as a result, Indigo had always been one of the poorest nations. The only region that is even worse off than us is that barbaric place known as Alola. Under my administration for the past four decades, Indigo's economy as a whole has been revitalised and is reaching heights that had never been reached before. I told you, to do great things, one must do it for the greater good."

Kain took another drink from his mug on the table.

"Why else do you think I started Project Illusion and trained all 359 of you? Look at how many disasters we had prevented. Yes, I know it's immoral, but how else are we going to effectively combat organisations like Team Rocket? Yes, we cannot prevent them all and there are casualties no matter what we do, but we kept the damage to Indigo to a _minimum_. As a whole, the damage Indigo had suffered had been minimised. 358 lives in exchange for the security of the Indigo? It's a price I'm willing to pay. This is all for the greater good."

Ignoring me, Kain continued his speech.

"Of course, there will always be fools who don't see the larger picture at hand, because they are so hung up on their respective regions that they fail to see that if we all want to survive in this harsh world, Indigo as a _whole _needs to thrive regardless of who profits from who. Why, there used to be a problematic group named SKIP that forced my hand to exterminate them for good. The extermination was so thorough that hardly anybody knows about them today. _Fools_, the lot of them. Can't they see that nothing good will happen if Kanto is separated from Indigo? Kanto and Johto have to survive together by letting one survive at the expense of the other, and then the one on top must then give aid to the one at the bottom to push it up further than what it had been before. No matter what I tried, that is the only way I know of that can ensure Indigo's survival."

"I'm sure there must be another way. Surely there will be people qualified for the job who will help you if you asked?"

"In politics, to trust another is to be a fool. I had been a fool once, and once is enough. Enough of this." Kain ordered a stop to this entire conversation as his expression turned stern once more. "Continue your mission. Find out more about this unknown Mewtwo Project and also the identity of the true leader of Team Rocket. Failure is not an option."

Kain took his leave after I gave my salute. I left soon after.

Now, there's no longer any doubt in my mind. Like I suspected, Kain is beyond redemption. He's too deeply entrenched in his mindset that everything he does is right and that there is nobody else other than him who could do a better job than him.

Kain is used to working alone because he doesn't trust others to do a better job than him. Because he always works alone, he is too inefficient in solving the problems plaguing Indigo. There is only so much that he can achieve alone. Even if he is giving his very best, in this case, his very best is still not enough.

Ignoring his despicable side, even someone as brilliant as him has their limits. The only way to overcome them is to find someone that he can work with as a team, which he didn't.

Because of Kain's inability to admit that he is too distrustful of anyone else that is not under his full control, Kain had fucked up big time when it comes to the Kanto-Johto divide. So what if Indigo as a whole had prospered under his administration? He never sees Indigo's citizens as people, but mere _statistics_. What he is doing is further widening the unseen rift between the two regions. If this were to continue, there wouldn't be an Indigo left for him to rule.

Now, I'm certain.

For the greater good, Kain is definitely the first person that needs to be removed. Only after that will I deal with Giovanni and Team Rocket. This will be my last act as the Rocket's Exterminator.

For the greater good, it will be done.

I won't accept any objections.

* * *

This is arguably the hardest infiltration mission I have undertaken. I really hope that this is worth the trouble. After this is over I still need to hurry and complete whatever Giovanni tasked me to do, so I need to finish this as fast as I can.

_'Two more coming our way, Master Jayce.'_

I held up my right hand and gave a signal. Ninetales got herself down in a crouching position in preparation of what is to come. We can all hear the approaching footsteps.

Three, two, one. Now.

With a faint glow of psychic hue, ninetales caught the patrolling guards in a Hypnosis. We quickly slipped past them and headed towards our destination. Nosy is in charge of wiping all footage of us from the security cameras of the Indigo League HQ.

For the sake of my goals, I have to reach Lance's office undetected. He's the only one left that I can trust to make things right, because he is the_ Indigo Champion_. If this fails, then I will have no choice but to involve the former members of SKIP. I don't want to get them involved because I have no idea if their sentiments for Giovanni from their SKIP days would affect their judgement in getting rid of Giovanni and his dangerous plans for Indigo. I don't want to risk that, no matter how low the chances are.

Lance, however, wouldn't have such considerations because he is a third party.

It took me a long while, but we finally reached the door of his office. I am sure that nobody is in right now. To undertake this self-imposed mission without Team Rocket and Kain finding out is hard enough as it is. I cannot dawdle here for too long.

"Nosy."

With a whirr and a click, Lance's office doors unlocked itself thanks to Nosy's intervention. I cautiously opened the door a little and used an eye to quickly scan my surroundings for any possible traps. I didn't spot any, so we quickly entered. Zoroark and ninetales immediately hid themselves in different corners of the room just in case any unexpected situations might suddenly happen. Exeggutor is hidden by zoroark's illusion ever since the start of the infiltration and I signalled for zoroark to expand the illusion to envelope the entire room.

I took out the small slip of paper from my pocket and placed it on Lance's desk in a position that definitely will not go unmissed. Along with it is a hard drive containing some of the information about Kain and Team Rocket that should never see the light of day. I will feed Lance the information that I had gathered over the years, little by little. Only when I'm sure that Lance had fully believed in whatever I presented to him will I give him all I have. I don't need him to botch up my own plans simply because he cannot believe in his own good luck and tell the whole world what he just found out from me. Secrecy is of the utmost importance if we want to take both Kain and Team Rocket out for good.

There are things that I can do and things that I cannot do. Among the list of things that I cannot do, two of them are at the very top of the list.

The first is the impossibility of taking down the entirety of Team Rocket's forces by myself. To rid Indigo of Team Rocket, taking down their leaders will never be enough. Someone else will simply take their place, so there is a need to deal a devastating blow on the entire organisation. The second thing that I need to see done but will never be able to do so on my own is to find a way to destroy the M2 Bind. It is a construct made to specifically restrain and control Mewtwo. The entire machinery is too complex for me to even understand and it is built to be near indestructible. There is no way I can do anything about it alone. If I want to free Mewtwo, I need external help.

The only problem that I cannot do anything about is that whatever I know about Team Rocket and their future plans is not complete. Yes, I had found out a lot about Team Rocket in the years that I went undercover, more so than what the Indigo League will ever uncover on their own, but I know for certain that there are things that Giovanni and Ariana will never let me know. It's a contingency plan on Team Rocket's part. Even for us Executives, we will never know the full scale of operations, the organisation's future plans, their full manpower, and the location of all their bases. Each of us only know a different part and aspect of Team Rocket and even though some of our authority and job scope will overlap with each other, we will never know the full picture. Thus, even if one of us got captured or betrayed the organisation, Team Rocket will never fall. The organisation will always have something to fall back upon and start anew like an undying weed.

Giovanni is a really cautious and dangerous individual, that's all I can say about him. Lance will have to make do with the incomplete information that I am feeding him to save Indigo from this coming crisis. I had really done all I can on my part, now it's his turn. Whatever is going to happen next is not a fight that I can participate in. If Lance fails, then Indigo is doomed.

Lance is my only hope left. If he really is as justice-driven as people talked about, then this might work. I really hope Professor Oak did choose a suitable successor before his retirement. If not, Indigo will be in ruins. I don't want anybody to know who I really am yet, even if it's Lance, because I have no way of knowing for certain if I could truly trust anyone at this point. The last thing I need is for my cover to be blown because I became too trusting of others.

The only thing I can do now is to place my trust in others to do the right thing, using whatever it takes, while still holding a few cards close to my chest. I don't have any other options.

Once I made sure that I've left no traces behind, I signalled to my pokemon to prepare to make our escape. Teleportation is not an option because the countless psychics in the Indigo League HQ will immediately detect us and teleportation might sometimes leave traces if you are not careful. Our escape has to be done in the old-fashioned way.

I locked Lance's office doors behind us as we left the room, walking at a brisk pace and took a left turn at the first crossroad.

_'Another pair of guards. The ones we passed by earlier.'_

_'Just continue walking.'_

These are some of the guards that ninetales had already hypnotised on our way to Lance's office earlier. Ninetales mentally activated the hypnotic suggestion she had planted into them from that time and Hypnosis kicked in once more. Planting a psychic suggestion or trigger is tricky work, much less for a non-psychic type like ninetales, but she had never let me down before. The benefits of implanting a psychic suggestion or trigger is that it can be remotely activated anytime the user wishes to. That means that subsequent infiltrations into the League HQ will be much easier if the same people that we hypnotised happened to be on patrol again. Of course, there are several limitations, but the benefits still outweigh the cons most of the time.

We walked past the pair of hypnotised guards who acted like they didn't see us at all. I am being overly cautious today so I had zoroark cloaking us all in an illusion. With both Hypnosis and zoroark's illusion at work, detecting us is going to be difficult, especially when the other side is least expecting it.

We reached an electronic gate soon enough. Nosy is already in the Indigo League's network together with several Team Rocket porygons that I had secretly reprogrammed to obey only me. With Nosy leading them, they unlocked the gate the moment I reached and the gate opened, letting us through. The gate closed shut and locked itself the moment we crossed to the other side.

I swiftly made a few more turns and quickly found the fire escape, a flight of stairs that nobody ever uses. I found the small business bag which I had left here beforehand when I was infiltrating the Indigo HQ which contains a change of clothes. I picked it up and quickly took out the contents as we continued to walk down the stairs down a few floors. Within a minute, I had changed the top half of my attire back into those of an ordinary office worker that works in the HQ, a pair of thick rimmed glasses over my face and complete with a fake staff pass that I had prepared beforehand.

We exited through the fifth floor exit after making sure that nobody is in that particular corridor. Zoroark's illusion is still active. At this point, I cannot have exeggutor walking about with us any longer because the corridors here are a lot smaller and there is higher human traffic here. I don't want anybody to accidentally bump into an invisible exeggutor, so I recalled him back into his pokeball.

Five more minutes of walking and a right turn later, we are in the main office building of the Indigo League HQ. A large number of people are walking about the building, each of their attire similar to mine as I played the part of just another faceless employee among the hundreds that are working here everyday. I have no need for zoroark and ninetales to be walking about anymore since there are too many people around for zoroark's illusion to hide himself. He could easily be found out if somebody accidentally bumped into him or ninetales despite hiding themselves with an illusion, so back into their pokeballs they go too. Right now, I can easily hide myself in plain sight.

I took the escalators down until I reached the ground floor where the exit is at. I have to tap my staff pass at the electronic gantry to exit. The security guard manning the gantry happened to make eye contact with me and I gave him a small smile as I tapped my staff pass. A beep and a green light later, the gantry let me through and I walked out of the Indigo HQ, Nosy and the other porygons already making their escape with me as they transferred themselves into that fake staff pass during the short moment when I tapped my staff pass against the gantry's sensor. That staff pass is in actuality an electronic medium that allows me to carry Nosy and his little gang of porygons with me without being too conspicuous.

_'Ooh, so that's how an infiltration is done! I will have to try it out myself some other time!'_

_'Please don't.'_

_'Why not?'_

_'I just know that you are going to mess it up somehow.'_

_'Have a little more faith in me, would you? I **am **Mewtwo!'_

I walked around the Indigo Plateau for another half an hour to make sure that nobody was tailing me before calling exeggutor out and telling him to teleport me out of here.

Infiltration success. It is finally done.

The first part of my plan is finally in motion. Now, the tricky part is how to ensure that the Indigo League will not be completely blindsided while still keeping my identity hidden and not drawing any attention to Team Rocket. It's still too early for unrelated people to start suspecting Team Rocket of cooking up any big plans and too early for the League to make a move. The time is not yet ripe.

In the proposal that I submitted to Giovanni in getting rid of Kain, I made it such that it is necessary for us to have an army of porygons. Since I am the one directing the whole show because it is **_my _**plan, Giovanni will very likely give me full command of the entire porygon army that I need to pull off what I need to pull off. It is by sheer luck that Giovanni and Ariana had put me in charge of managing Team Rocket's information network upon my promotion to Executive. With that appointment, I now have control of almost every single porygon in Team Rocket. This is something that works very well in my favour. With this, there are a lot more things in which I can safely do.

Gaining Giovanni's complete trust paid off after all. I can sympathise with him. In fact, a part of me wants to simply screw the League and switch sides but ultimately, I couldn't bring myself to do that. If Giovanni started a war, countless will die. People will lose their loved ones and turn to whoever and whatever that will help them get their revenge. I don't want to see people following down the path in which Jane and I had taken. Never again. I don't want to see someone else like me, living their entire lives bound by hatred.

My kind of life is not something I will want to wish on anyone.

Getting my hands on that porygon army is exactly what I had been aiming for once I gained Giovanni's trust. With them on Team Rocket's side it is too hard to get anything done on my end, but now that the cyber army made up of porygon, porygon-2, and porygon-z are under _my _control, everything changes.

The first order of business was to command all of them to physically appear before me. Gengar, ninetales, and exeggutor then quickly hypnotised them all, buying enough time for Nosy to quickly rewrite all of their programming. As a porygon-z, Nosy now has the ability to rewrite the programs of any porygons that are less skilled than him. As a result, Team Rocket's cyber army of porygons is now mine to control. Something as risky as this can only be pulled off if I earned Giovanni's complete trust. Doing what I did leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I really don't know what else can be done when I'm fighting alone with no one else to trust.

With the cyber army of porygons and the access granted to me as an operative of the Indigo League, hacking into the massive database of the Indigo Government to dig out every single piece of Kain's dirty secrets is now possible. Team Rocket could probably do so even without my prompting, but Giovanni and Arianna probably didn't want to do something so risky just yet when they are still undecided on what to do even if they managed to hack into Indigo's database. However, with my plan, they now have a goal to reach and a purpose for finding out whatever secrets Kain is hiding behind everyone's backs. There is no longer a need to hold back when the risk justifies the rewards, because Team Rocket is now ready to launch an all-out war.

After more than two decades of preparation, the time for Team Rocket to start a war is soon.

And so, under Giovanni's orders, Operation Skip had officially commenced. Meanwhile, I am also making preparations on my end to further my own goals. For Kain and Team Rocket to be stopped, I need a third party that can stand against them in a three-way war. I need the uncorrupted faction of the Indigo League to fight the battle that I cannot fight. For that, I need Lance. I need to make contact with him in a way that cannot be traced back to me. I don't need him to know who I am, that's irrelevant. I don't want my presence and his knowledge of my past and true identity to cloud his judgement. I just need him to know that his mysterious informant is undoubtedly on his side.

The fateful day of the clash between Team Rocket and Indigo is coming soon. My time as the Rocket's Exterminator is also coming to an end.

For everything that Jane and I had done so far, Kain and Team Rocket has to fall.

We won't accept any objections.

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**


	17. Chapter 16- Twenty Questions

After completing my self-imposed mission at the Indigo Plateau, I had immediately gone to finish what Giovanni had sent me to do, to find out from Fuji just what is needed to be done to complete Mewtwo's body.

According to Giovanni, Team Rocket's scientists still have not made any progress on how to properly complete the last 5% of Mewtwo's body, and Mewtwo's body must be completed as soon as possible. Time is of the essence for Team Rocket and since the only people alive who hold the secret we need are Fuji and Blaine, we have no choice but to get it out from either of them. My body's condition had somewhat stabilised and my pokemon's skill with Hypnosis is perfect for the job because I will not leave any traces behind, so Giovanni sent the Rocket's Exterminator out once more.

Giovanni had targeted Fuji simply because Blaine is too powerful for me to get a drop on. Setting our sights on Fuji is the only logical option left to take. The only other thing Giovanni had ordered me to do is for me to not harm Fuji as much as possible, out of sentiments he held for the elderly man during their time as SKIP's leaders.

Ensuring that Mewtwo's physical body can be completed is also of the utmost priority for my own plans, which just so happens to closely align with Giovanni's own. I guess luck is on my side this time because being able to go on this mission is what allows me to finally advance my own agenda to bring everything to a close.

From what I know, Fuji lives in Lavender and runs a daycare that takes care of sick and orphaned pokemon. However, he is still semi-active in the field of pokemon research. Team Rocket's own information network pointed me towards Ecruteak, where Fuji is currently attending a week-long seminar regarding pokemon genetics. Since Fuji is a somewhat high profile person, my extraction of information from him must be very discreet in order not to draw any attention to myself.

Hypnosis it is then. No other choice.

With Nosy's help, it didn't take us long to track Fuji's exact location through tracking the location of his phone through GPS. All we had to do next is to ensure that whatever I planned to do to Fuji won't be spotted by a third party. Cornering Fuji was laughably easy because he is so defenseless, which was the main reason why he was chosen to be the one that I will approach in the first place instead of Blaine. Gengar had him under her hypnosis in just a few seconds.

"Speak, how can Mewtwo's physical body be completed? What else is missing?"

In the confines of Fuji's own hotel room, the old man who is now my victim had a glazed look over his eyes, trying very hard to fight back the effect of Hypnosis gengar had over him. Stronger men than him had tried and failed. Fuji won't succeed.

"How… complete… is Mewtwo right now?" Fuji slurred out, still trying to put up futile resistance against gengar's hypnosis.

_'Let me read the minds of one of the scientists…' _Mewtwo immediately got to work when he heard Fuji's words through the special connection we now share. '_Hmm… about 95%? They say that I need the final DNA component, which they don't know anything about. They are still stuck on researching it.'_

I verbally relayed that to Fuji, who immediately gave us the answer we needed. He had put up a valiant fight against the effect of Hypnosis, but it wasn't enough.

"Human DNA." Fuji spoke out immediately, his aged voice old and weary. "Human DNA is needed to stabilise Mewtwo's body at the very last and crucial state. That particular human must have its full trust for this process to work, because at this stage, Mewtwo's mind is already born and active. If its donor doesn't have its trust, very likely, Mewtwo's body will simply reject the given DNA subconsciously."

Human DNA? Why human? Why would a pokemon need human DNA?

_'So **that's **the missing piece of me. Jayce? You hear that? You are the chosen one, so would you mind making a trip back ASAP so that I can finally be born?'_

_'Let me first tie up some loose ends here.'_

I made sure Fuji was comfortably sitting on his chair before I silently left his room under the cover of zoroark's illusion. Gengar will make sure that Fuji remembers nothing from our earlier encounter.

Once we were done, I simply chose to take the scenic route and strolled through the streets of Ecruteak with weavile walking beside me. Despite the detours we took before starting on the mission Giovanni sent us on, we finished the mission way before the stipulated deadline. A few days earlier than expected, in fact. We could afford to take some time off for today. I will spend the next few days revisiting Lance's office undetected and slowly feeding him more and more of what I know to gain his trust before I have to report back to Giovanni.

But whatever I'm planning to do with Lance starts tomorrow. So right now, sightseeing it is. This is probably the last chance I have to do so anyway.

_'Hey, my chosen one. I thought we had an agreement for you to hurry and make your trip back ASAP?'_

_'I want to take a break from being cooped in that stuffy hideout. Not only that, our plan for Lance, remember? I still need to slowly feed him information day after day to convince him that what I am telling him is true and get him to start doing **something**. Besides, I still need some time to think of a way to convince Giovanni why you would only accept **my **DNA instead of his without raising suspicions or angering him. I'm not sure if he would accept the explanation of your body rejecting DNA from a donor you do not trust, even if that were Fuji's exact words.'_

_'You do remember that your pokemon has the ability to control minds, right? Big enough clue for you?'_

_'Easier said than done. Giovanni is no fool, he won't succumb to the Hypnosis easily. He's too strong-willed.'_

_'I mean for you to hypnotise the scientists to help you convince the annoying one, actually, but if you can mind control **Giovanni **of all people, be my guest.'_

_'Gengar, ninetales, and exeggutor already have their hands full trying to retain active control over every single Government official that we had hypnotised for our final plan. Trying to control somebody as strong-willed and paranoid as Giovanni isn't going to work.'_

_'What a bummer. Giovanni sure lives up to his title as the annoying one.'_

_'The only one who gave him that title is you.'_

_'You mean the majestic me.'_

_'I'm too lazy to argue with you.'_

The lazy banter I had with Mewtwo went back and forth within the confines of my mind as we finally exited the city and headed towards Route 38. There isn't much traffic today, and the somewhat lazy atmosphere around this area is a nice change of pace, like a breath of fresh air. There were trainers who wanted to challenge me upon spotting weavile but I refused any challenges directed towards me. I don't have a pokedex, so it's not like I could take part in an official battle anyway.

_'You should just take up the challenge and then wipe the floor with them. It will be fun.'_

_'You are sadistic.' _I replied to Mewtwo's statement without thought.

_'Who do you think I got this trait from?'_

_'Must be Giovanni.'_

_'Must be Giovanni. Should I tell him that?'_

_'You can try.'_

_'So this is Route 38 of Johto.' _Mewtwo mused as he sees what I see through the special telepathic connection that we now share. To share one's senses with another is something that no psychics have been documented to be capable of doing through a telepathic link. I have no idea how Mewtwo accomplished what he did but I will just chalk it up to Mewtwo being Mewtwo.

_'It's quiet, but it's nice. I like this place, Jayce.' _Mewtwo commented.

_'We are reaching the end of the route. See the left turn over there? Once we made the turn we will be at Route 39. There is a famous miltank farm over there that sells pretty good milk, called the moomoo milk. It's considered a unique Johto delicacy because the ones from Johto always tasted the nicest.'_

_'Oooh. Can we try one? Please? Drink a bottle so that I can taste it too! I never drank milk before.'_

_'Sure._' I replied with a mental shrug. Why not? Moomoo milk is indeed tasty and I have nothing else to do today.

We reached the farm soon enough. At first glance, I could tell that there really aren't many tourists or customers visiting this renowned farm at this period of the year and at this time of the day. I simply walked into the shop at the side of the farm and bought three bottles of moomoo milk. One for me and Mewtwo, one for weavile, one for gengar who is hiding within my shadow.

We exited the shop and found the rest area. I took a seat on a nearby bench outside the shop that is facing the ranch where the miltanks are raised in and for visitors to observe. Surprisingly, there's nobody here except for us. Mewtwo is obviously excited at seeing another new species of pokemon that he had never seen before. I can feel his excitement buzzing within my mind. I let him be. I could afford to stay here and do cow watching for the next hour or so if Mewtwo is really that intrigued by those miltanks.

"Drink slower or you will choke." I reprimanded the little troublemaker as he began to excitedly down the entire bottle in one go. Weavile simply made a face at me before going back to chugging down the contents of the bottle. I simply sighed and tossed one bottle into my shadow for gengar to drink. As to how she is planning to do so without being seen, I do not know, but I know she will enjoy the treat.

After taking off the breton cap from my head and placing it beside me, I also opened my own bottle and began to slowly drink the moomoo milk.

_'This taste is heavenly!'_

_'You say that for every single new thing you tasted.'_

_'Not for spicy food. I hate those.'_

_'You will grow to love them. Trust me.'_

_'Jayce. Buy more of those moomoo milk and bring it back to the hideout.'_

_'For what?'_

_'To drink them, of course! Oh, I know! You can pour them into the tank which I am in, so that I can taste them too!'_

_'I doubt it works that way. Your body's sense of taste shouldn't be functional just yet.'_

_'I can still have my milk bath at the very least!'_

_'That is a waste of resources and you know it.'_

Weavile coughed halfway into drinking the bottle of milk, earning him a deadpan stare from me.

"See? I warned you, didn't I? Drink slower."

Weavile stuck his tongue back out at me and began to continue drinking the milk again. This time, at a much slower pace.

I continue to slowly drink the beverage from where we are sitting on the bench while listening on and on to Mewtwo's excited ramblings. The only weird thing I have to endure is to listen to how he kept going on and on about miltank's teats and what fascinating things they are, in his own words.

Sometimes, I wished our minds weren't linked, only to spare me from this kind of agony.

_'Hmm, somebody else is here.'_

Mewtwo's words got me to glance towards the right where people would enter this rest area after exiting the shop. True enough, a woman with a pair of large sunglasses worn on her face walked into the rest area soon after with two emolgas running playfully after her and a paper bag held in one hand, presumably containing a few bottles of the moomoo milk she probably bought from the shop just a minute ago.

_'Hmm, a human female.'_

_'You mean woman.'_ I corrected Mewtwo.

_'Actually, after observing how those male miltanks try to court the female miltanks while we are chilling here, I have a question, Jayce.'_

_'Not sure if I want to hear it.'_

_'You are not given a choice. I'm not accepting any objections.'_

_'Oh, using my own words against me again?'_

_'Is it effective? This blackmail?'_

_'Please, this is hardly blackmail. It's just you being cheeky at most.'_

_'What does my cheeks have to do with this?'_

_'I'm not referring to the cheeks that you think it is. The word cheeky means showing a lack of respect or politeness in a way that is funny or amusing.'_

"Is anybody sitting here?"

My telepathic conversation with Mewtwo was disrupted when the woman walked up to me and politely asked that question. It's weird. There is nobody else around us and there are plenty of other places to sit in this rest area yet she asks to sit beside me.

What kind of agenda does she have?

_'Oooh! Just about the question I was about to ask you, Jayce! How does human courtship work? In human standards, is this female hu- oh, I mean, woman, desirable?'_

"No, you can sit here if you want." I gave my reply to the woman and gestured for weavile to shift closer to me so that the woman had more space to sit on the bench. Weavile simply jumped off the bench and began to chatter excitedly to the emolgas, who responded in kind.

I cannot help but take a second look at the emolgas. Not only are they rare to see in the Johto region, these furry squirrels are obviously very well taken care of given the shine of their fur coats. Not only that, these emolgas are obviously very well trained. They are not just mere companion pokemon.

Huh, colour me impressed. Not many would go through the time and effort to train emolgas to this level. This species of pokemon are more commonly kept around as companion pokemon in the Unova region because of their cute looks and also because they are easy to raise. However, emolgas are not powerful battlers by nature, and hence not many trainers chose to use this species of pokemon in competitive battles.

"You are a pokemon trainer?" The woman brought my thoughts back to the present as she took out two bottles of the moomoo milk and passed them to her emolgas before taking a bottle out for herself. "Your weavile seemed very well-trained."

"Kinda, I guess." I took another sip from my own bottle as my gaze went back to looking at the miltank grazing at the field in front of us. Officially, I am not a trainer, but whatever.

"Kinda?"

"I'm an IT consultant. Taking care of pokemon is just a side hobby of mine."

"You kid me." The woman lowered her sunglasses a little with a hand to take a better look at me, revealing her sapphire blue eyes. "_Side hobby?_ Anyone who takes care of pokemon as a_ side hobby_ wouldn't be able to take care of a dark type like a weavile so well nor could they tame a _ghost_."

My eyes snapped back to her as she said that. Not just anybody can recognise the extremely subtle telltale signs of a ghost taking residence in their trainer's shadows. You have to be very observant and a highly experienced trainer to pick that detail out. Even veteran trainers would have problems doing so. It is also not common for pokemon trainers to even keep a ghost type around in the first place due to how rare their presence is and how vicious they can be. Taming a ghost type is not an easy job at all, arguably on the same level of difficulty as taming dragons or even higher, which is the reason for the rarity of Ghost Specialists among trainers.

To spot gengar's presence so easily, this woman is not any ordinary trainer, that is for certain.

"Take it or leave it." I responded as I returned to slowly sipping on my moomoo milk. I have no wish to continue this pointless conversation. All I want is to drink my beverage in peace while I'm taking my rare break from work.

"Not the chatty type, I take it?" The woman said with a laugh as she used a finger to push her sunglasses back to its original position. "Fine, fine, I get it. _Side hobby_, yeah, I get it, _side hobby_."

_'She's onto you~'_

_'Who cares. We will forget about each other within an hour after we left this place.'_

_'You still haven't answered my question.'_

_'What question?'_

_'I was asking you about how human courtship works. In human standards, is this woman desirable?'_

_'First, teats. Now, this. Are you entering puberty right now or something?'_

_'I'm just curious. It's all for education and science, it's all about the best learning experience!'_

My eyes glanced back to the woman sitting beside me and drinking her own beverage in an elegant and upright position. My spy training kicked in automatically as I listed out the traits my eyes could pick out at a glance.

Grey bucket hat. Yellow hair with a bob haircut that reaches her neck. Sunglasses with large and slightly red tinted lenses. She has blue eyes from what she revealed earlier. Slender body and built, but not in the unhealthy way since I can see some well-toned muscles in her arms and legs. Grey sleeveless top with dark blue jeans that goes surprisingly well together. I do not know or care about the latest fashion trends but overall, from the choice of clothes, she is probably someone who is used to dressing fashionably.

Her mannerisms and the way she sits and carries herself suggests that she is no stranger in presenting herself to others in the best possible light. It can be seen from how she angled her body when facing me earlier. Either she is raised that way or she is used to doing so on a regular basis, which means that her line of work probably requires her to do so. She has a pair of emolgas, pokemon not native to Kanto or Johto and not easy to get your hands on in this part of the world. Either she's rich enough to get her hand on these two electric squirrels from outside the region, or she is not from Indigo. Meaning to say, a foreigner.

Another look told me that the way she dresses herself points towards the latter because the way she dresses herself is not how Kantonians or Johtonians would normally do. Her accent is also not one you will hear from Kantonians or Johtonians. She also wears an xtransceiver on her left wrist, an item that is only popular and widely used in the Unova region, which further solidifies my suspicion. Johtonians or Kantonians would use the pokegear instead.

Conclusion, this woman is probably a foreigner and if so, is from the Unova region. Furthermore, either this woman is from an affluent family, or she is trained in having to act fashionably and nice around others 24/7. If I had to make an educated guess, she's probably involved in the fashion industry, even if that doesn't explain why her emolgas are obviously so well-trained. If I have to stretch it even further, I will place my bets that she is probably a fashion model. Her smooth and unblemished white skin, her neatly maintained hair, carefully manicured fingernails, what little I can see of her face that is not covered by her hat and sunglasses, her mannerisms and the way she carried herself, fashion sense, all points to this fact.

_'Oh, so she **is **desirable to a human male in your standards. Visually appealing and attractive, at least.'_

_'Stop reading my damn mind.'_

And then to my irritation, the woman carried on with the pointless conversation while Mewtwo was still chatting away in my mind. It's very difficult to keep track of who is saying what when one is speaking directly into your mind and another directly into your ear. I will get a headache at this rate.

"So, Mr _IT consultant_ with a _side hobby_ of taking care of pokemon." The woman leaned slightly into my direction from where she was sitting at my right. "How many badges do you have?"

"Zero." I replied. Why is this woman so damn talkative? Can't she take a hint and shut up? I just want my peace and quiet here.

_'Jayce. Is this what people call hitting on another? Is she hitting on you?'_

_'I doubt it.'_

_'Hey, what if this is how human courtship works?!'_

_'I really doubt she's interested in me in that manner.'_

"Pft. Like you could have _zero _badges with a weavile that skilled." The woman said in a semi-sarcastic tone. "You suck at lying, you know that? Your eyes said it all."

"I don't want to hear that from you. What would anyone be doing with a pair of emolgas that is at least Elite level in strength? Not many would even bother to train emolgas, much less to this level. They are companion pokemon."

"Oh, so you can at least tell that much about my emolgas? So you _do _recognise me? Well, not surprising. Not many have emolgas like my Mimi and Nana. It's pretty much obvious who I am by now."

"No, I don't have a clue as to who you are."

"Wait, _what?!_" The woman was visibly shocked at my remark, which earned a raised eyebrow from me due to how her voice had gone a few notes higher. She dramatically placed her free hand on her chest, the other still holding onto her bottle of moomoo milk, and continued to speak in an exaggerated manner.

"People_ around_ the world all know who I am. Look _carefully_. You _don't know **who **_I am? You _really _don't recognise me?"

"No, and I'm not interested." I scoffed as I continued to sip on my beverage and… it's finished. Should I buy another bottle? Hmm, decisions, decisions.

"Oh, _challenge accepted_." The woman said with a grin as she leaned in further and gestured to herself with a hand. "Let's play a game of twenty questions to guess each other's identity, shall we? We both obviously have time to waste anyway. I will dazzle you so much that you will never forget who I am the moment we are done here."

I rolled my eyes. Well, at least that is one way to pass the time. I doubt I will lose in a game of twenty questions anyway. I probably have most of her background figured out by now.

_'Twenty questions? What's that?'_

_'A kind of game. Watch and learn.'_

"Only if you get me a bottle of moomoo milk. I'm currently too lazy to get up to buy myself another bottle."

"Small price to pay to get myself another fan." The woman agreed as she picked out another bottle of moomoo milk from the paper bag and placed it beside me in a rather dainty manner. Fan? Most likely that my guess of her being a model is spot on then.

"Fine." I said as I took the bottle of moomoo milk she offered. "Shoot away."

"You are from Johto."

"No." I shot down that question immediately. "My turn. You are from Unova."

"Oh, what gives? The xtransceiver?" She said with a small degree of surprise as she looked at the xtransceiver worn around her wrist.

"Your emolgas too. Seeing their species is not a common sight in Indigo and they are more commonly found in the Unova region. Your turn."

"If you are not from the Johto region then you must be from Kanto." The woman mused. "You said that you are not a trainer but yet take care of pokemon as a side hobby… A _weavile _and a _ghost _too… If not a trainer then… A pokemon breeder by any means?"

"No." I replied and watched as her jaws dropped in confusion and denial. I pressed on with my question. "You are from the fashion industry or more specifically, you are probably a model."

"Wait, what? Are you sure you are not cheating? You figured that out all on your own _without knowing **who **I really am?_ **_Seriously?!_**" The woman indirectly confirmed my suspicions as she got slightly agitated. "You _don't know_ who I am but yet guessed my job with just _two _questions?!"

"I really never saw you before. Why are you so sure that I _have _to know who you are even before this game started? I figured you out even before we played this game. You never had a chance in beating me to begin with." I snorted and opened up the new bottle of moomoo milk she gave me before this game started. Ah, the sweet taste of victory.

Delicious.

"Oh, and enlighten me, Mr IT consultant with a side hobby of taking care of pokemon. How did you figure that I am a _model_ if you've really never seen me before_?_" The model said with a slightly sultry voice as she leaned in even closer. I simply ignored her and looked ahead in the direction of the ranch before starting to list out my points in a flat tone.

"The way you carried yourself is a huge giveaway. Your posture alone tells me that you need to carry yourself differently on a regular, if not, daily basis. The way you walked in just now is not how a normal woman would walk. You walk as if you own the place, expecting that there are audiences looking at you all the time, which means you are a public figure. The way you sit on this bench even in a supposedly relaxed environment and state is a lot different from others, like you are used to sitting differently no matter where you are. Even in your casual wear, you dress too fashionably, suggesting that you are probably from the fashion industry. You have a good figure. Too good, in fact, which means that you made a constant effort to maintain it. Your face is mostly covered but it is not hard to guess you have a pretty face behind those shades and under that bucket hat, so you are probably a model. And if that wasn't enough, you mentioned getting more _fans _just now. Need I go on?"

_'Now that's what I think is a classic textbook jaw-dropped expression.'_

Upon Mewtwo's remark, I took another glance at the Unovan female model.

_'Yeah, it is.'_

"You are _very observant _for an IT consultant with a _side hobby_ of taking care of pokemon." She spoke slowly and finally removed her shades, allowing me to get a proper look at her face. Like I had suspected, she has a pretty face hidden behind those shades. Although…

"Huh, now that I see what you look like, have we met somewhere before?"

No kidding. She looks _really _familiar, like I should know her or something. No wonder she kept asking whether I knew who she was and was so shocked when I said that I didn't. In that case, who is she?

Her facial expression turned into shock upon my question, then disbelief, then she began to comically wail out loud to her two emolgas resting beside her feet in a very exaggerated manner.

"Mimi! Nana! This meanie _doesn't know who I am! _He doesn't know _who we are!_ How can this be?! I thought we were _famous!_"

"Maybe it's time you get yourself a reality check then. This is Johto, not Unova." I said dryly as I continued to slowly savour my prize in a manner that I know will piss the model off even further. Mm, sweet moomoo milk.

"Don't be so smug, you only managed to correctly guess a part of my identity." She turned back to face me and weavile with a slight pout. "Since it seems that you _really _have _no clue_ about _who _I am, I can tell you that I have two jobs, both very different in nature. Modelling is just one of them. Guess the other one and this is your win."

"Don't particularly care to."

"_You-_ Hey! I'm being genuinely nice and friendly, you know?!"

"So?" I challenged. "Just because you are nice I _have _to be nice? Stop being so naive, Ms Model. The world is not a nice place to begin with. Don't play a game you cannot win."

"So says the_ IT consultant_." She said in a mocking voice and a roll of her eyes. "Yeah, right. Like you are an IT consultant. Only an idiot would believe that."

"Like I said, take it or leave it. Not my business if you choose to believe my words or not."

"You know, I was originally planning to give you a polaroid of me as your prize for guessing my identity." The model took out a polaroid camera from her handbag as she said so and waved it in front of me. "But seeing how you just snubbed me in the face, I decided against it."

"Why would I even want a polaroid of you?" I grumbled irritatedly. A polaroid of _her?_ Just how narcissistic can this woman be? Does she think that the world revolves around her or something?

"Do you have _any idea_ just _how many_ men would cut off their limbs, sell their kidneys, clamour at my feet just to have a face-to-face talk with _me?_ Do you know how many would jump off a building just to get a polaroid picture of me, from me _personally?_ And if I sign my name at the back of a polaroid of myself, do you know how _high _the price of this one picture can fetch, even if I simply randomly took the picture anywhere I wanted?"

"Don't know, don't care, and I will never ask." I replied immediately, making the extra effort to sip on the bottle of moomoo milk I took from her all the more audible, just to piss her off even further. Her reactions are pretty entertaining.

"You _really _don't know who I _really _am, do you?" The woman asked the same question for the umpteenth time today, which had successfully annoyed me. "I can understand if you didn't recognise me with my shades on, but how out of touch with the world are you if you cannot even recognise me when I took my shades off?"

"Like I said, I don't care."

"Hey, hey." The woman began to incessantly tap on my shoulder to get my attention and to get me to look at her. I turned around in annoyance.

"What now?"

"You work for either the Indigo League or the Government, don't you? More specifically, you are the special forces type, the type to go for long undercover missions or secret stuff like that. Not only that, you have been working in this field for a _veeeery _long time. "

Inwardly, I have to admit that I am shocked at her sudden statement and the accuracy of it even if outwardly, I don't let my shock appear on my face. However, upon seeing that knowing smirk on her face, I know that she had sensed my shock somehow.

Fuck.

"Got you~ Mr _IT consultant._"

"How?" I have no choice but to resign myself to my fate since my cover is partially blown. I can already feel gengar tensing up from within my shadow, ready to go into battle at a moment's notice. However, the best course of action is to simply play along for now. At least this is a no-name model from Unova that I will probably never meet ever again, not someone from Team Rocket.

And if she dares spills the beans, I can always silence her chatty mouth. _For good._ There is no way I am allowing my hard work to come undone at this very critical juncture and I will be damned if some meddling model ruins everything that I had so painstakingly built up over the years.

The model began to list off her points one by one with her fingers.

"You wear a long coat even in this sweltering heat. Either you are used to it, or you have something to hide. The place where we are sitting is at the very back of the rest area where you can have a good view of the entire area and where nobody can get behind you. The weather is hot and the fans in the shelter do not blow this way so you purposely chose to sit here for some reason. This is not the best place to sit if you are simply here for some R&R but considering your demeanour, you really are here for some R&R, which means that you choosing to sit here is simply an ingrained habit and a subconscious choice. You are used to working from the shadows and out of sight from others. You are used to acting in a way to draw the least attention to yourself. Am I right so far?"

"Not bad." I nodded partly in amusement, partly because I am impressed with her observations. Guess I've been too laxed in needing to hide my cover. I had obviously underestimated this Unovan model as well.

"I saw a line of pokeballs attached to your belt when I was walking in here, just right before you hid it from my sight with your coat but I still spotted it, which is why I am so sure that you are a trainer. Nobody who takes care of pokemon as a_ side hobby _would have so many pokeballs on them. The way you angled yourself and placed your arms the moment I sat down beside you is positioned such that if I were to-"

She suddenly threw a punch at me, which I caught with my free hand and on reflex, immediately twisted her arm such that I locked it behind her back and pinned her against the nearby wall. Her emolgas were immediately onto me but weavile interrupted their advances with a Fake Out as gengar emerged from my shadows and placed herself between me and her pokemon.

"- attack you right now, it blocks any attacks to your vital spots and also in a way that you can easily defend yourself as you have just demonstrated. Thanks for proving my point, by the way! And oh, a _gengar!_ So _that's _the ghost that has been hiding in your shadow all this while? Gengars are notoriously hard to tame because of their violent nature unless you have been keeping them around as a gastly from a young age and even then, that is extremely risky. You will also need to let gengar battle other pokemon frequently to keep their battlelust in check. No way someone who is not a trainer and only takes care of pokemon as a_ side hobby_ could tame a _gengar_."

The model turned back to look at me with a cheeky grin.

"Then there is the fact that you don't recognise me even when you are obviously an accomplished trainer, which means that you are not well-versed with international affairs nor are you up to date with the international trainer community. That could mean that you either are very ignorant with anything outside of Indigo, which you don't seem to be the type, or that you are usually too busy to keep up with what's going on in the other regions and that your line of work has no need for you to really keep track of international affairs. Problem is, with what I can observe about you, what kind of work isolates you from _both _the pokemon trainer industry _and _the fashion industry? What keeps you so busy that you have no need or want to know about what is going on outside of the Indigo?"

I am starting to hate the smug look on her face right now. Scary thing is, she's right on almost every point. She is no mere model alright.

The woman didn't even look bothered that she was pinned against the wall as she continued to state her speculations.

"So, with all these points in mind, if it is true that you are not a trainer, then the only explanation that I can think of is that you are not an _official _trainer. Someone not officially recognised by the League as a trainer for various sensitive reasons and if so, the only plausible explanation is that either you are a criminal, or you are a secret agent of sorts. I'm going with the secret agent explanation since if you are indeed one, you would be too busy trying to stay alive to care about the latest fashion trends or news. That fits your behaviour and mannerisms displayed thus far too. From experience, criminals tend to have a lot more free time. They would at least know that the attire that I am currently wearing is what is trending right now. It's the latest thing _everybody's _crazy about. Everybody seems to know that _except _for _you_, apparently."

I could feel my eye twitching in annoyance. I have clearly underestimated this annoying woman but at the same time, it's not like I could off her right now in broad daylight. This is definitely not a good place to commit murder.

"So, am I right, Mr IT consultant?" The woman cheekily blinked her large blue eyes at me in faux innocence.

"Tch."

I clicked my tongue in response and loosened my grip. I have no choice but to let her go lest other people came across this scene right now and got the wrong impression from how I am pinning her against the wall. I don't want this situation to blow up any bigger than I need it to be. The Unovan model rotated her arms in a very exaggerated manner the moment I let her go and purposely lament out loud for me to hear.

"Ah, the pain in my arms. You really have no idea how to treat a lady properly, do you? From this alone I can tell that you are single! Definitely single! And look at how gloomy you dressed up! Almost an all-black entirely! I bet that the clothes in your wardrobe are more or less the same!"

_'She's right, you know.'_

_'I don't need your input now of all times.'_ I mentally grumbled back to Mewtwo. _'Is she hostile?'_

_'No. She does not have any hostile intentions towards you. More like curious and playful. She's in a good mood, in fact. I'm pretty certain that she is trying to court you. This **has **to be how human courtship works.'_

_'And I am fairly certain that you are wrong.'_

_'For once, I think that you are the one who needs to be taught. No matter how I look at this she's interested in you.'_

_'She's just curious. Once her curiosity is sated she will be on her merry way.'_

"You are _very observant _for a model." I commented, returning the words that she told me earlier.

"To be fair, I wouldn't have made that guess if I never worked with a few secret agents such as yourself." The woman stretched herself with her arms up much like a cat. "The way you talked back to me was a huge giveaway too. Not sure if it comes with the job description, but the scant few secret agents I worked with are all so jaded about life and never cared much about manners or anything else outside their jobs, just like you. They are also extremely paranoid, like what you just did earlier."

"And why would a model have to deal with _secret agents?"_ I asked, my curiosity about this woman had now increased a little.

"I told you, I have two jobs, both of a very different nature." She playfully waved a finger in front of my face. "In fact, I'm surprised that you _still _don't recognise me even when I took off my shades and showed you my face like this. I'm _very _famous, you know that? I'm known across the world for many things."

"You mean being a general annoyance like how you are now?" I scoffed as I took my seat once more. Thankfully, my unfinished bottle of moomoo milk wasn't spilled when I went to subdue the model earlier for exposing my cover.

"Hey!"

"That aside, you shouldn't do what you just did, even if you are sure your guess is accurate. It's basic courtesy in my line of work." I told the model as gengar slinked back into my shadow upon a quick gesture to her with my hand, out of sight of the model. "People like us are all jumpy and paranoid as hell. We act first, question later. I could have killed you even before you could explain yourself."

"Oh, _please_." The woman waved my words away obnoxiously. "There's_ no way _you could have done that. Your weavile and gengar are strong, that I can tell, but you have _nothing _against Mimi and Nana. I am in no real danger all this while."

"Confident much?"

"It's not confidence when it's a fact." She stated flatly before giving me a playful wink. "Why? You want to test my words in a two-on-two battle?"

"No thanks. Paralysis is annoying to deal with when it comes to facing electric types. Not interested. I'm simply here to take a break, not to battle."

"Hoh, you do know your stuff when it comes to facing electric types."

"My side hobby requires me to." I replied as I finished my second bottle of moomoo milk before asking her a question out of curiosity. "Earlier, you guessed that I am either a criminal or a secret agent. Why didn't you guess that I'm a criminal?"

"You really are one?" The model asked as she covered her mouth with a hand in a rather bimboistic and dramatic fashion. "Oh no~ Is poor old me in _danger?_ _Whatever _would a _pretty _and _defenceless _damsel like me do~ Oh no~"

"I just want to know how you arrived at your answer. And don't be stupid, a criminal would never admit that they are a criminal. It's pointless to ask that question." I said in mild annoyance. The more I look at her, the more I am certain that I probably had seen her face somewhere before. I just can't recall who or how or when.

_Who is she?_

"There are a lot of things one can tell about a person just by looking at their pokemon, you know?" The model dropped her exaggerated act as she sat back down on the same bench I am sitting at, just at my right. "People say that a pokemon reflects their trainer. And it's true, or at least I believe in that statement. I had seen countless trainers and their pokemon in my line of work. One look at your weavile and I know that you obviously took great care of it. Someone who loves pokemon as much as you do can't be all that bad. Call it instinct honed from my job, but observing the way your weavile behaved convinced me that you have to be a secret agent instead of a criminal."

"_Instinct_." I scoffed. "You made your guess based on _instinct_."

"Like I said earlier, your eyes gave it all away. The eyes are the window to your soul. They don't lie."

"You just got lucky."

"Did I now?" The model gave me a teasing smirk as she shoved her polaroid camera into my hands and stood up.

"Alright, since we are friends now help me take a picture to commemorate my trip to Johto, Mr IT consultant!"

"I refuse." I snorted in response.

"Awww, I know you are salty for me exposing you like that but hey! You agreed to play a game of twenty questions! Don't be a_ sore loser!_ And it's not like I'm going to tell the whole world what your real job is, I know when to keep my mouth shut! Look, even your weavile is giving you a disapproving look!"

I looked down, only to see weavile shaking his head dramatically with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

The little traitor.

_'Come on, Jayce, don't be a **sore loser**. Funny how you lost to a **model **at your own game, eh?'_

_'Shut up.'_

The incessant buggings from the irritating model and Mewtwo got too much for me so reluctantly, I got up from my seat and let the annoying woman shepherd me until we reached the fence that separates the miltanks from us visitors. She leaned against the fence and casually struck a pose. The speed, naturalness of it all, and the familiarity of her actions further convinced me that she must be a very experienced model. She even purposely positioned herself in such a way that the angle of the lighting from the sun rays is at the most optimal for photography.

_'This **has **to be how human courtship works. She has to be flirting with you. You cannot convince me otherwise, Jayce.'_

_'Please stop with your delusions.' _I replied to Mewtwo before I got serious. _'Mewtwo, objectively speaking, do you think she is an enemy?'_

_'Give me a moment.' _Mewtwo said as he went silent for a few seconds before speaking into my mind again._ 'From what I can tell, no. She is merely having fun pulling you along by the nose and teasing a reaction out of you. And oh boy, I just read her mind to find out her true identity. I'm not sure if you will be happy at the answer.'_

_'Just who is she?'_

_'Not telling.' _Mewtwo huffed in a childish manner. _'Unless… we play a game of twenty questions too? How about that?'_

_'Screw that.'_

If even Mewtwo deems her to be a non-threat, then technically speaking, my cover has not been blown. There is no need to take any further action.

Before I knew it, she half-forced, half-taunted me to help her take a total of five polaroids. She inspected the pictures while humming an awfully cheery tune the whole time. I had finished my beverage by then, so I simply chucked the empty moomoo milk bottles into a nearby bin and proceeded to walk off.

Too much had been revealed about my identity to be comfortable. If it wasn't for Mewtwo's reassurance, I will be planning her murder right now. She should count herself lucky that Mewtwo is on her side.

"Yoohoo~ Mr IT consultant!"

"What?" I replied with slight annoyance when the woman caught up to me and began to obnoxiously tap on my shoulder without stopping to get my attention. Alright, maybe the fact that this woman had guessed my true identity so accurately in just a few tries had hurt my ego more than I cared to admit.

Not like I would tell anyone that.

_'You don't need to. I can tell.'_

Damn overly curious baby psychic.

_'Nobody asked for your opinion.'_

"You sure you don't want a selfie with me before I go? One-time offer! Free of charge!"

"And _why _would I want a selfie with _you?_"

"Whatever then, your loss. Here! A polaroid of me!" The woman all but shoved a polaroid into my hand. "Keep it, sell it, whatever. I'm not kidding when I say it can be sold for a high price the moment I signed my name on it. Well, see you when I see you, Mr _IT consultant!_ It's been fun playing twenty questions with you! Check me out on my social media accounts, okay? And smile more! You are not doing your handsome face any justice with the long look you keep plastering on your pretty face!"

With an obnoxiously cheery wave, the Unovan model walked away with a skip in her steps and her emolgas hitching a ride on her shoulders. I immediately flipped the polaroid around the moment she disappeared from my sights, spotting a signature signed right at the back of it using a marker. Since when did she sign her name there without me catching a glimpse of it?

My eyes widened slightly when I spotted just _what _name she signed on the back of the polaroid. The cursive and neat 'Elesa❤️' signed on the back of the polaroid is too hard to miss.

Elesa? Where on earth had I heard that-

_Oh_

_OH_

_'Caught you by surprise, didn't it? It caught me by surprise too when I found out about her identity through subtly reading her mind.'_

_'Nimbasa City's Gym Leader, I see.' _I mentally stated in my mind. Well, that explains certain things. Like why her emolgas are so well-trained. Like how she said that she had worked with secret agents before and when she said that from her experience, criminals tend to have a lot more free time than secret agents. It's kind of true if you speak from a broad perspective. As a Gym Leader, she must have been involved with some form of peacekeeping in her region at some point. All the more so considering Team Plasma's recent movements.

Still, what is she doing all the way here in _Johto?_ Is she here on a vacation, or something else?

At the very least, I definitely won't be seeing her again, so that's something. A Gym Leader would definitely know how to keep secrets. If she guessed that I am a secret agent working for Indigo the last thing she will do is to blow my cover for no reason, because doing so will risk political repercussions between Indigo and Unova. My cover is definitely safe.

Wait, is she _really _Nimbasa City's Gym Leader? Or is she pulling my leg?

I immediately took out my phone and searched for Elesa's social media account. If that annoying woman is indeed Elesa, she _has _to have a social media account or two if she's a model and public figure, a _Gym Leader_ known for her _catwalks _to boot.

I soon found it. It's definitely her and she's definitely the Gym Leader of Nimbasa. As if to add insult to injury, she just posted a picture of a polaroid I had taken for her just a minute ago. The caption?

_Travelled to Johto and gained a new fan today! We even played a game of twenty questions! Never thought that an IT consultant would be so good at the game! #firsttimeinjohto #elesashiningadventures #hedidntrecognisemeatalluntilitoldhim #aminotfamousenough #whoknewitconsultantsaregoodwithacamera #polaroidsftw #moomoomilk_

_Fan my ass._ And what's with the long list of hashtags that made no sense?

_'She works fast, I see.'_

_'She's doing this just to annoy me, I just know it. And what's with that stupid hashtag? Who knew IT consultants are good with a camera?'_

_'Goes to show how low her expectations of your photography skills are.'_

_'Oh shut it, you baby.'_

_'Well, I have to say today is full of enriching experiences. I get to see what Ecruteak is like, see what kind of creatures miltanks are and taste what milk tastes like. I learned that I am glad that I am not created to have teats like miltanks do. I also learnt what is a game of twenty questions. Not only that, I can see for myself how human courtship works and I can safely say that you suck at it.'_

_'You have gotten **awfully **talkative, eh?'_

_'Oh, are you mad? Had I hit a sore spot with that last point? I must have, right? Is this the time where I'm supposed to say that I'm sorry even if I don't really mean it?'_

I didn't bother to reply as I continued to be on my way, with weavile following after me and gengar still taking residence in my shadows.

_'Hey, Jayce. Did I really hit a sore spot? Hey, answer me. Hey!'_

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**

**Name: Elesa Euclid**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Zebstrika (Dazzle) **

**2\. Emolga (Mimi) **

**3\. Emolga (Nana) **

**4\. Ampharos **

**5\. Galvantula **

**6\. Eelektross **

**7\. Stunfisk **

**8\. Luxray **

**9\. Dedenne **

**10\. Alolan Raichu **

**11\. Jolteon**


	18. Chapter 17- Turbulence

Pallet Town is a peaceful place, which is why he settled down here in the first place.

Close to little pollution. Harmony between humans and pokemon, away from the strife that comes with being tangled in politics.

The him of before naively thought that all the Indigo Champion needs to do is to simply repel all challengers who challenged him for the title. It made him want to laugh at himself right now. Being a Champion is more than just being an undefeated trainer. Being a Champion is to protect your homeland from all threats and not every threat can be solved through a pokemon battle.

It was the right decision to retire. Lance will do a better job than he can. Where he failed, Lance will succeed. The young will always surpass the old, that is what he believes in.

"Oi, Gramps."

Samuel Oak turned to face his grandson, who is standing impatiently near the door wearing a white lab coat over his normal attire. His grandson helps him out in his research whenever he is not off running around somewhere training like a hermit. He still thinks that his grandson's attitude could use a lot more work, but it is already a lot better when he was still a snotty brat.

"Blue." The renowned Pokemon Professor of Kanto, previous holder of the title of the Indigo Champion, can only sigh when his grandson is like this. Still as impatient as before.

"It's _Gary_." Blue stressed. "Stop calling me after a stupid colour."

"I named you. I will call you however I like." Samuel Oak scoffed. "Gary **_Blue _**Oak."

"Stupid old man." Blue grumbled as he took off his white coat and hung it on a nearby clothes rack. "Thanks to you nobody ever calls me Gary."

"Off again?"

"Yeah. My pokemon are getting restless. There's no limit when it comes to pokemon battling, no one can ever claim to be the strongest. Even then, I will continue to strive for the top, the undisputable top, because I am Gary Oak."

"Gary **_Blue _**Oak."

His grandson picked up a nearby crumpled piece of paper and threw it at him. Samuel Oak dodged with practiced ease.

"Smell ya later, Gramps." Blue waved a lazy goodbye to him as he walked out of the door. "I'll check on Daisy and grandma in the meantime, so don't stress your poor little heart over it."

"REMEMBER TO CHANGE YOUR UNDERWEAR!" Samuel purposely hollered out after his departing grandson loud enough for the entire lab to hear, only to be greeted with a string of choice words his grandson shouted back at him from some unseen corner.

Ah, it is fun to embarrass his grandson like that. A talented trainer he may be, but he is still his grandson.

Samuel Oak clicked open the small oval-shaped photo pendant he always wore around his neck. On the left half is a family photo of him, his wife, son, and daughter-in-law. That was a very long time ago, when his wife had not divorced him after the death of their son and daughter-in-law. It had been a difficult time for all of them.

His son and daughter-in-law were not trainers. There was no way that they could have survived that. If only he was there to save his children. If only…

His eyes went to the right half of the photo pendant. Three little faces stared back at him, smiles on their faces. One of them is a newborn baby still swaddling in his cot. Around him are a pair of toddler girls, curious about their newborn little brother. The girls are twins. That picture was taken by his wife just a day after Blue was born.

These are his grandchildren.

He had three. Now he only had two, because it doesn't matter how strong he is as a trainer, he was always_ too **late**_.

Too late to save his comrades. Too late to save his family. What's the point of being the strongest if you cannot even protect your loved ones?

Samuel sighed as he shut the photo pendant with an audible click. Blue and Daisy don't even know that they had another sister. Jane Green Oak, that was her name that his wife picked for their granddaughter. The name of Daisy Yellow Oak was given to the other twin by their parents.

It's not like he and his wife want to keep the fact from their grandchildren that they had another sister, but what was the point of bringing it up? They were too young to remember anything when Jane died with her parents at Azalea. Bringing it up now is still too painful for the both of them even when so many years had passed.

If Jane is still alive right now, she would already be an adult. He would probably still have problems trying to tell her apart from Daisy. Jane always did like to sing as a child. Maybe she would have pursued a path different from the family, a path different from her parents.

His son and daughter-in-law were researchers like him. They were attending a summit there. Jane and Daisy kept bugging them to bring them along because the twins wanted to go see what Azalea was like. Blue was too young, so he stayed with his wife in Pallet. He himself had to run another errand at Indigo Plateau before he was able to go to Azalea, but he had told his children that he would meet them at Azalea that fateful day.

He was held up at the League. He was an hour late to the meeting. In that one hour, he lost two children and one grandchild. When he received the bad news and finally arrived onto the scene, he only found Daisy among all the wreckage.

If only he wasn't late. His wife, Agatha, is still blaming him for that.

His son was not a trainer, but he kept a gastly around that he received from his mother who is a Ghost Master. His daughter-in-law took in an injured wild houndour shortly before Blue was born and nursed it back to health. The houndour willingly followed his daughter-in-law after that. He could still remember that fire type who is always overprotective of its trainer and snarling whenever he got too close. The houndour's overprotective tendencies always amused him to no end.

It wasn't likely that the houndour survived the destruction, but ghosts are supposedly immortal unless they are killed through exposure of highly concentrated ghost or dark energy directed right at their bodies. He still found it odd that the gastly never returned back to them, but he took solace in the fact that the two pokemon were most likely the reason why Daisy is still alive.

He should have been there. He was the one who was once the Indigo Champion. He had the strength. He could have done **_something _**if he was there on time.

He would never forgive himself for that. His wife certainly still holds a grudge against him, blaming him for their children's death. She had never appeared before him again after their divorce, even if she met up with their grandchildren regularly.

He walked down the stairs into the basement where his lab is at. With a twist of the doorknob, the door opened, revealing the partially lit room. He was about to sit down on his chair and continue writing his new thesis paper when he realised that _something isn't **right**._

Someone is already sitting in his chair.

"Blaine?"

"Samuel. It's been a long time." The current Gym Leader of Cinnabar rose from the chair he was sitting on and walked towards him. "Sorry for the uninvited intrusion, but the severity of the situation calls for it."

Samuel sighed.

"It's not like I'm unhappy to see you, Blaine, but I officially withdrew from all League related activities ever since that day. The only thing I am willing to help do is to represent Kanto as her Regional Professor. If you are here for any League related issues-"

"It's about SKIP."

Samuel's head snapped up in shock.

"SKIP?"

"SKIP is not as dead as we thought it to be. On the contrary, it is doing extremely well. Too well, in fact." Blaine said in a grave voice. "However, things have really gone out of hand and the League needs all the help that she can get. We need to gather whoever is left. This is the mess we started, we should be the ones to end it. We need you, Samuel. We need our Undefeated Oak back."

"Explain." Samuel demanded, his fists clenched. Blaine _never _joked about things like this. If Blaine believes this to be real, then it is real.

The day he feared is here. The day where his past actions are catching up to him. He should have known that karma tends to find its way back to you when you expect it the least.

* * *

When Gary Blue Oak decided to pay his cranky grandmother a visit he wasn't expecting **_this_**.

He loves his family. His motherly older sister, his cranky grandmother and his nerdy grandfather. He may have lost his parents when he was not even yet a year old but his grandparents more than made up for the loss. He never felt that he was any less than any other kid who had parents, unlike him.

Although he never knew why his cranky grandmother never wanted to see his grandfather again. All he knows is that it's related to the deaths of his parents. Ever since he was young, he had never seen both of them appearing together in the same place before.

Until now.

When he left Pallet Town in a Teleport to travel to Lavender to visit his grandmother, all he expected was a brief respite before he started his self-imposed training regime. Maybe bug his permanently disagreeable grandma a little and annoy her to no end like he always did and then he would be on the receiving end of her scary horde of ghost types once more. It will be good training for him and his team either way. His grandmother was once an Elite Four and his grandfather an ex-Champion. Facing them in a serious battle can only be a good experience for him.

When he arrived at his grandmother's house in Lavender through the help of his alakazam, he was greeted by his older sister, Daisy.

"Blue!"

"_Gary_." Gary stressed to his sister the correct name to call him by, frustrated that his grandfather is the reason why even his older sister insisted on calling him by a stupid colour. At least his grandmother calls him by the correct name. That's why even though that old hag is cranky as she comes, she's his favourite.

Who the hell named their kids after colours, huh? His family, that's who.

Gary walked into the living room. The cranky old hag is oddly silent, scrolling through a laptop placed on the coffee table with a serious look on her face as she sat on the couch.

"Hey grandma." Gary purposely made his entrance loud and obnoxious to catch her attention. "Come on, let's battle. I'm not going to lose this time."

"You are a hundred years too early." His grandmother snorted, but her gaze never left the computer screen. Gary edged himself closer to see just what she is looking at.

"What is this?"

"Hopefully the final draft of the stupid textbook some naively idealistic young girl persuaded me to do. Makes me wonder just what kind of spell she casted on me to convince me to help her." Agatha grumbled under her breath as her gengars' cackles resonated across the living room, hidden from view as always.

"Oh, the one that you told me and Daisy about? The one with a weird affinity for ghosts?"

"That one." His grandma nodded her head in agreement before a sneer appeared on her face. "Such a _waste_. She could have been the strongest Ghost Master to ever grace the PWL with her gift, but she decided to not pursue such a path and instead become a _Generalist_."

The way his grandmother spat the term 'Generalist' in such a manner really rubbed him the wrong way, especially when he and grandpa are Generalists themselves.

"Hey, Generalists are cool. Just look at me and Gramps." Blue retorted, slightly offended at his grandmother's disdain for Generalists.

"Bah! Being a Generalist is a _waste _of her talent. She will never go far in there because she will be stretched too thin. You don't get it because you don't have a ghost on your team, but her gift to naturally get ghosts to like her is something _nobody _had seen or documented before. It's a major boon for any Ghost Specialist. The girl could go even further than me as a Ghost Master if she puts her mind into it."

"Yeah yeah. Blah blah blah." Gary rolled his eyes in response. "You are just salty that the girl doesn't want to end up as a cranky hag like you."

He earned himself a painful whack to his head, courtesy of his grandmother's sturdy cane. Luckily for him, the phone rang at that moment and saved him from further whacking.

"I will go get it!" Daisy volunteered as she left her seat to pick up the call.

"Huh. Who on earth would call you?" Gary wondered aloud as he looked back at his grandma. "You don't have any friends at all."

"You are really asking for some spanking, huh, brat?"

"Just chill a little. Your creaky old bones would probably break even before you could do so."

"Grandma?" Daisy's voice could be heard from where she was speaking to whoever is on the other side of the line. "It's Grandpa."

"Just hang up." Agatha muttered as she continued to look over the draft of the supposed textbook.

"Um… Grandpa said it is very urgent? Something about… um… Grandpa?" Daisy confirmed with her grandfather over the phone again just in case. "What was it again? Skip?"

Gary noticed that his grandmother's entire body stiffened upon hearing that last word.

"Skip." The cranky old hag murmured as she immediately stood up from her seat and hobbled over to Daisy at a speed Gary never thought he would ever see her walk. She snatched the phone over from Daisy and practically seethed at the phone.

"_Samuel Oak_. You better _not _be pulling my leg." Their grandmother went silent once more as their grandfather's voice could be heard over the phone, but not loud enough for him or Daisy to pick up what their grandfather is talking about.

"You sure?" Their grandmother asked after a brief period of silence. "I see. I will get Fuji and Bill and bring them over, you and Blaine stay there."

Their grandmother slammed the phone shut with a vengeance, her other hand gripping her cane so tightly that her hand turned white.

"Grandma?" Daisy asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. Gary!"

Gary jumped in his seat on instinct upon hearing his name getting called. His grandmother had not used such a tone on him ever since he became a trainer.

Something is not right.

"Y-Yeah?"

"You are coming with me. I need your alakazam to teleport me to several places. We have a few VIPs to fetch."

"...What?"

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**


	19. Chapter 18- Identity

There is a need to find an extremely secluded place where they all can meet in secret in order to plan for the big battle ahead. This is something which they as the former leaders of SKIP had started, it is their responsibility to end it.

Fortunately, Lance had managed to find such a place for them. An area where no outsiders are allowed entry and is not under the jurisdiction of either the Indigo Government or the League because it is private land, which means that they would not need to worry about being watched. The owner of the place had given them permission to enter and use it for the time being, which means that they now have a secret base of operations in which both the interpol and the former SKIP members can hang out and plan for the big day.

As to how Lance managed to convince the owner of Olivine's West Forest, Volkner Tide of Sunyshore, to do so Samuel has no clue. It surprised him that the former Gym Leader of Sunyshore is the owner of the mysterious West Forest in the first place. Who would have thought that an ex Gym Leader from Sinnoh would settle down here in Johto? Now also the husband of Jasmine, Olivine City's Gym Leader no less?

In any case, he's not going to complain and he is sure neither will his fellow SKIP comrades. It's not hard to tell that Volkner is not exactly willing in having people like them disturb the tranquility of his West Forest, so they try not to impose too much on him. Having a Sinnohan tangled so intimately in Indigo's affairs is not supposed to happen in the first place anyway, so it's best if they do not cause him further trouble for all the generous help that he had so begrudgingly given. Already, they had converted his entire garage into their own lab and from what they can tell, it's probably Volkner's only sanctuary in the West Forest that Jasmine allows her husband to do whatever he wants there.

"Comfortable?" Volkner asked lazily with his leg propped on the surface of a nearby table, his eyes surveying whatever is left of the familiarity of his garage. Samuel can practically see the pain in Volkner's eyes of having his precious garage converted into a boring stuffy lab.

He can understand. He was once in his shoes when he and Agatha were still husband and wife. Just like how Volkner's garage is his only sanctuary in his home, his underground lab was also his only sanctuary back when he and Agatha built a home together in Pallet.

"Sorry about this." Samuel said apologetically. "We'll make it up to you after all this is over."

"It's fine." Volkner casually waved it off with a sigh. "I should have expected something like this when Lance asked me if the interpol and SKIP could use my forest as a secret base of operations. Whatever. I will just renovate the entire thing the moment this whole mess is over. At least I will be kept busy for a while."

"Thank you for volunteering to help Indigo." Samuel said sincerely from the bottom of his heart. Volkner has no obligations to help Indigo. There's nothing in it for the Electric Specialist to do so and he has everything to lose simply by being involved, yet he is here, playing a crucial role in stopping Giovanni and his mad plans.

"Please don't say it as though I'm some sort of saint. I am, and will always be, a selfish asshole. I didn't _volunteer_." Volkner deadpanned. "When the Indigo Champion who is also your resident _Dragon Master_ literally went down on his knees to ask for my help, there was no way I could say no no matter how much I don't want to get involved. Well, at least that's something to brag about to my future kids. Lance going down on his knees gave me a huge scare, you know? I nearly thought he was going to pop the question with a ring in hand when he did that. What would Jas say if her handsome husband received a marriage proposal from the Indigo Champion himself? I will be sleeping on the couch for the next decade, that is for sure."

Samuel chuckled at Volkner's bad attempt of a joke. Well, Volkner's been complaining non-stop about the task he's been given ever since he got here but Samuel can tell that there's no real bite to it. Volkner's simply complaining for the sake of complaining. The eyebags and dark circles around Volkner's eyes told a very different story. The Electric Specialist must have stayed up very late last night to complete the task Lance had asked him to help do and if rumours about this man is to be believed, Volkner does take his job seriously no matter how laidback and disagreeable he appears to be.

"You know that I'm not here just to see the pathetic state of my garage, right?"

"Was wondering when you would say that." Samuel replied as he took a seat within the garage-now-turned-lab because it seems that their conversation will take awhile. It's only the two of them in here for now. The rest will be coming over about an hour later. "You don't look like the type to seek others out without a good reason. You are busy enough as it is."

"To be honest I'm not sure if telling this to you _now _is a good idea, but it concerns your family, so I thought I should inform you first and from there, whether you want to tell the rest of your family is your own decision."

_"My family?"_ Samuel clarified, which Volkner replied with a nod of his head.

"Come on, Professor, don't tell me you don't find this entire fiasco fishy as hell." Volkner cut straight to the point without delay. "First of all, an informant appeared from literally out of nowhere to warn us of the Rocket threat that would have blindsided the entire Indigo. Not only that, it came at the right time. Not too early, not too late. It came at a time when we have _just enough_ time to prepare ourselves against the Rockets."

"I agree." Samuel nodded his head in agreement. "Everything does seem a little too coincidental and our luck has been a little too good considering what Giovanni is planning. But what does this have to do with my family?"

"I'm getting there, give me a while." Volkner replied before talking about another seemingly unrelated topic. "The entire dump of information the informant gave us? It can be broadly classified into two categories. The dirt on Kain, and the dirt on the Rockets. One of them is significantly more than the other. Take a guess which is it."

"Seeing that the informant appeared to warn us of the Rockets, it should be them, but going by your tone of voice I have a feeling that it is otherwise."

"Yes, _exactly _that." Volkner emphasised with a snap of his fingers. "Weird, right? If the whole informant warning Lance shebang is to warn us of the Rocket threat so that Indigo will not be blindsided by the sudden eruption of war, why give us so much information about Kain? I understand if he gave us a number of it to prove to us that Kain cannot be trusted, but what he gave us is _way too much_. So, why? That got me thinking, how on earth did this informant manage to get all this super duper secret information in the first place? You were Indigo's Champion, Professor, you had worked with Kain before. Tell me, on a scale of one to ten, how paranoid is that old fart?"

"A hundred." Samuel snorted at the thought of the unpleasant President of Indigo and what he had done to his SKIP comrades. "But I see your point. Kain is extremely careful about what he does. Getting just a single speck of dirt on him is hard, getting so much dirt on him is not supposed to be possible."

"My sentiments exactly. I had thought that maybe Indigo doesn't place as much importance on cybersecurity as Sinnoh did, so I went to check it out with my porygon-z. Guess what? Indigo's cybersecurity is rock _solid_. Not in any way inferior to Sinnoh's."

"Volkner." Samuel had to resist the urge to facepalm and sigh. "You cannot just-"

"**_Hack_** into the Government's database. _I know_." Volkner replied with a roll of his eyes. "Jas and Lance already told me off for that, but to be fair Lance did promise me free reign to do whatever I need to get the job done, so stop complaining. Besides, I did find out something that you guys will never imagine. It's what I'm about to get into that concerns your family and many others."

"So _what _did you find out?"

"_Everything_ that the informant gave us about Kain? It's _almost _the _exact _number of files on him and all of his dirty dealings my porygon-z can find in the Government's database. There's only one file that the informant did not give us and I'm very sure that it's not because he or she could not access it because it's not even the most classified file he or she leaked to us. That one file was not given to Lance _on purpose_, I'm very certain about it. The informant doesn't want us to know about that file, _at all_."

Volkner then passed to Samuel a printed copy of whatever he had technically gotten out of the Government's database through illegal means.

"Project Illusion. Top secret project authorised by Kain that is supposedly illegal if found out. That is the missing file that the informant chose not to give us. You can read for yourself what it really is about on page two."

"That **_bastard_**." Samuel seethed the moment he read the summary of what Project Illusion really is about. "I knew his hands were never clean and he always took things to the extreme, but must he stoop so _low?_"

"If you are angry now, I suggest that you cool your rising blood pressure before you flipped to the bookmarked page. Like I said, it concerns your family."

Samuel looked at Volkner in incredulity, then back to the document at hand. He still took Volkner's advice and took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for whatever may come before flipping to the bookmarked page.

What he saw shocked him to the core.

**_Operative Number_**_: 2043_

**_Code Name_**_: Pikachu_

**_Known given birth name_**_: Jane Green Oak_

**_Place of abduction_**_: Azalea Town_

**_Date of abduction_**_: Year 509, February 22nd_

**_Method of abduction_**_: Taken from family after inciting a stampede of wild rhyhorns living in the area to run through the town. Operative's memory was subsequently modified. Operative family members believed operative to be dead since the body was never found._

**_Cause of death_**_: Killed in front of Rocket group as a show of warning after cover was blown. Death confirmed by partner, Operative 2046._

**_Age at the point of death_**_: 16_

**_Misc_**_: Operative was found to be in possession of a houndour and gastly at point of abduction, whose memories were also altered when they were also brought along during the abduction process. _

_Jane_. His granddaughter, Jane. That bastard Kain abducted his _granddaughter _for his own ends and **_killed _**his son and daughter-in-law in the process.

"You okay?"

"Give me a while." Samuel took deep breaths as he visibly tried to rein in his anger. After an unknown period of time, he finally mustered the willpower to look through his granddaughter's profile once more. Right on the top right of the page is a photo of his granddaughter decked out in an operative uniform. She looks exactly like Daisy, albeit a lot younger since this photo was obviously taken when she was only in her teens.

Jane was alive all along, and he wasn't there to save her from Kain's grasp. Now, she's dead. Dead for almost a decade and he knew _nothing _about it.

He's late, _again_.

"If you need some time alone to sort out your thoughts I will just see myself out now." Volkner whispered as he slowly got out of his seat. Samuel quickly prevented that from happening.

"No, please stay." Samuel insisted. "I need to know. Everything that you found out about this Project Illusion, please tell me what you know. This is important to me and to my family."

"So it's true then? Everything about her on this report? Especially on how she was abducted?" Volkner asked, to which Samuel responded with a silent nod of his head.

"My children did get caught up in a massive rhyhorn stampede in Azalea on the day we lost them and Jane. My son and daughter-in-law also did have a gastly and a houndour and we never managed to find them. Not even houndour's corpse. We never knew why the rhyhorns were provoked or angered but these are rhyhorns, they are not the smartest creatures around and sometimes there are no reasonable explanations for their sudden berserk behaviour at that stage of their lives. Because of this, Agatha and I, we could only conclude that whatever happened was a stroke of bad luck and that was it. We never knew that the stampede was **_incited _**_on_ _purpose_."

"If the information here about your granddaughter is true, then I guess it's safe to say that everything else on the other operatives are true as well." Volkner said with a frown as he crossed his arms. "From what I read in this file, Project Illusion has 359 operatives in total, 358 are already marked as dead, including your granddaughter."

"So there's one still alive?"

"If what is written there on page three is to be believed, then yes. Coincidentally, that surviving operative is your granddaughter's partner, Operative 2046." Volkner said as he gestured to the report in Samuel's hands with a slight jerk of his head. "There comes another problem. The file on Project Illusion that I dug up, it only has 358 profiles instead of 359. When I got my hands on it the profile and particulars on the only operative alive had already been wiped, which is this unknown Operative 2046."

"So we will never know who Operative 2046 is?"

"Very likely." Volkner replied with a grim tone. "I had my porygon-z did all he could in finding out more because I have a feeling that this Operative 2046 is our secret helper, it will explain a lot of things and weird points about this whole shitshow thus far. It's just my gut instinct, of course, but as much as possible I want to have the clearest possible picture on the entire situation. My porygon-z had managed to double check the timing of the wipe, it was on the same day where there was a breach in security of the Government's database that till now, nobody at Indigo HQ had noticed. We also tracked the time of the breach to be just a few days before the informant first had contact with Lance. By all rights the Indigo database's cybersecurity is so damn tight that not even my porygon-z can hack into it alone, Indigo's cybersecurity is just that solid, but it still got hacked anyway without anyone the wiser. That security breach was what my porygon-z exploited to even manage to infiltrate into the database in the first place and retrieved this file. We would not have even gotten inside the database otherwise."

"So someone had somehow hacked into the Government's database all by himself, and then copied everything there is about Kain but for some reason, never gave Lance the file on Project Illusion. Not only that, that hacker purposely wiped everything there is to know about the only survivor of Project Illusion who is probably still running around working for Kain under the influence of Hypnosis." Samuel quickly summarised the entire situation and tried his best to not think about Jane. He will deal with that matter later in private.

"That's basically it." Volkner replied. "Just from this alone it's highly likely that whoever this informant is, he or she must be related to Project Illusion one way or another. Thing is, the file itself had stated that everyone else that was involved or knew about the project were all KIA. Meaning to say, right before we found out about it, only two people in this world know about its existence. Kain, and this Operative 2046. If the hacker is indeed a separate person and is working against Kain, why would he or she erase 2046's particulars? It doesn't make any sense. That Operative 2046 may be just what we need to bring Team Rocket down from within. If we can free the Operative from the Hypnosis' influence and work with that operative, we can bring Team Rocket down from within. It's definitely the better approach. So why did that not happen?"

"Assuming that the hacker and the informant are the same person, or that they are different individuals that are working in the same group for a common goal, whoever that person or persons may be, he or she has his own agenda to meet, that's what you are saying." Samuel caught on immediately. "That informant may be helping us, but he or she is also fighting their own battle."

"Or worse, manipulating both Team Rocket and Indigo to fight it out and then come in at the last moment to take whatever he is here for. Or they, depending on whether this informant is indeed working alone." Volkner cautioned. "In any case, finding out the informant's motives is equally important. If we get blindsided, _again_, we are all royally screwed."

"2046, huh?" Samuel went back to reading his granddaughter's profile again and again, his fingers lightly touching the printed picture of the granddaughter he will never have the chance to see or talk to.

"If that person is still alive I will get everything I need to know out of him or her. That person was Jane's partner and was the one who confirmed her death. It's very likely that person was there by her side in her last moments. Operative 2046 is simply another victim of Kain's actions. If possible, I want to help him reunite with his family too. Or her. Whoever Operative 2046 may be."

"If 2046 is indeed our informant, I'm not sure if he really is on our side. Influence of the hypnosis aside, what he does still doesn't make any sense. Most of the operatives in Project Illusion worked in designated pairs and were sent to infiltrate Team Rocket undercover, including your granddaughter, and 2046 is her designated partner. So going by that logic 2046 should also be undercover in Team Rocket at that time and judging from the quality of information he or she gave us, that person had not only managed to keep his cover while spying on Team Rocket from within for so many years, that person had successfully infiltrated deep within their inner circle. If 2046 doesn't want us to hit him with friendly fire by mistake on the big day itself, the last thing he or she would have done is to not let us know who he really is. The wipe was so thorough that even my porygon-z could not restore the missing page. Now that we have nothing else to go on about 2046's identity, we have no idea if we might accidentally kill him because he's with the Rockets. It just doesn't make sense no matter how I think about it."

"If we go by your logic and if 2046 is indeed our informant, then it's highly likely that his motivations are personal." Samuel reasoned. "Kain used to have a hypno which is extremely skilled in Hypnosis, it was what caused SKIP's downfall when the cover of one of our members was blown. But to my knowledge the hypno was never to be seen again for quite a number of years and Kain never did get another pokemon to replace the hypno. Maybe the influence of Hypnosis on 2046 had worn out because of the hypno's death, allowing him to finally take independent action in warning us about the coming threat while acting as if he is still under Kain's control."

"If that is true it means this whole setup is all for revenge. Revenge against Kain for what he had done to the operatives of Project Illusion." Volkner said in obvious concern. "This is a war that will implicate an entire nation spanning across two regions and the biggest terrorist organisation in the world. If 2046 is really in this for revenge there's a chance that this guy set this all up just to settle his personal vendetta. If that is the case he might be too blinded to care who lives or dies in his quest for revenge, I had seen it happen a few times in Sinnoh whenever someone from the Special Forces see their own comrades fall before their eyes in the line of duty and simply went nuts, as rare as such situations are with me around. It's not pretty."

"Let's just hope that is not the case." Samuel agreed before going back to look at Jane's portrait, then back at Volkner.

"Thank you, for informing me about this. I really appreciate this."

"Don't mention it." Volkner waved it off, his lazy demeanour returning. "It's simply the right thing to do. Let's just hope that Lance's informant really is working for our cause or we are all screwed."

"Whether the informant is indeed Operative 2046 or not, let's place our trust in that person this one time." Samuel said after a short period of silence on his part. "If the informant truly started a war for his own personal reasons there are better ways to go around doing it than to warn Lance. Call me an optimistic fool, but I prefer to see the good in people."

"Being an optimistic fool is still a lot better than being a complete fool in my book. Just look at Kain." Volkner scoffed upon mentioning the name that Samuel now etched into his old bones. Once this is all over, he is not going to have mere words with the President. He is not going to just demand an explanation.

He is going to_ take **action**_, something that he should have done a long time ago. If he had done that, maybe his children and granddaughter would not have paid for his mistake with their lives. Maybe the other 358 operatives of Project Illusion would not have needed to live such a horrid life. Maybe the sole survivor, Operative 2046, would not need to live like a puppet on strings and is still subjected to Kain's control.

It's all his fault. He was the Champion and he had failed in his duty, _spectacularly_, and now others are paying for his mistakes.

This time, he will make things right. Giovanni, Kain, SKIP. It's time to end things once and for all and to make things right again.

He will see to it no matter the cost.

* * *

_'You okay in there?'_

_'There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. So please don't make me think about my current circumstances right now.'_

I rolled my eyes at Mewtwo's answer. If he can be this sassy with me, then he's probably fine.

_'So, it's Shakespeare this time?'_

_'Freedom, Freedom! Wherefore art thou freedom?'_

_'I believe you confused the word Romeo with freedom.'_

_'Have you ever heard of improvisation? Do I look like a Juliet to you? Do I look like I have a Romeo to find right now?'_

The two of us are back at the Fuschia hideout. With the information we had gotten out of Fuji, Mewtwo's body is finally complete. There is just one small problem.

_'If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? For the sole act of putting me in this accursed M2 Bind, I, the second coming of Mew, shall smite thee annoying one with my almighty powers the moment I am free! For FREEDOM!'_

Giovanni is a really cautious man. Right before Mewtwo's body was completed he already had the scientists strap the M2 Bind on Mewtwo just in case Mewtwo decided to go rogue. As of now, Mewtwo has a complete body and is free from the tank, only to be trapped in that armour which is the M2 Bind, and there's nothing I can do about it but to watch and hope that Lance has a countermeasure in getting the M2 Bind off Mewtwo because this is not something that I can do for Mewtwo.

I would be lying if I say I wasn't worried about Mewtwo now that he is strapped with the M2 Bind, which means that his actions are now under Giovanni's total control. Although seeing how chatty Mewtwo is even in this state, I say he's alright, just very bored and annoyed that he is still being restrained even when he is now truly born into the world. This is why I am here, to keep Mewtwo company lest his frustrations make his temper rise to his boiling point and compel him to do something foolish and ruin all of our hard work. Powerful as he is, Mewtwo is just a naive child in many aspects. He still needs the guidance of an adult.

_'Sometimes, the better part of valour is discretion. Just endure it for now. I'm sure Lance and his men are finding a way to free you from the M2 Bind as we speak. I had made it very clear to him that it is something that must be done.'_

_'Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air! Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall. All the world 's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts! ...Oh, I actually memorised all of them! Good job me!'_

_'You don't understand a single thing you are quoting, are you? The way you string them up makes no sense.'_

_'Keep quiet, I'm having my moment. TO BE OR NOT TO BE: THAT IS THE QUESTION!'_

_'A very good question indeed.'_ I mused, remembering full well the context of that quote from my past life.

_'Huh? I was really asking a question? Oh nevermind, I have a few more! Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand, the blade pointing towards the heart of the annoying one?! Lord, what fool this annoying one is! Off with his head!'_

_'Make sure he doesn't hear you say that.' _I mentally replied in amusement.

_'What do you take me for? I am Mewtwo, I don't make silly mistakes like that. Right, ahem, back to where we were. Life's but a walking shadow, a poor Mewtwo, that struts and frets his hour within this damning M2 Bind, and then is HEARD NO MORE; it is a tale told by… told by… uh… Jayce? Told by who again?'_

_'Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.'_

_'Oh, right. TOLD BY THE ANNOYING ONE, FULL OF INCOMPREHENSIBLE GOD SAVE THE WORLD SPEECHES OF NO SIGNIFICANCE! OFF WITH HIS HEAD! OFF, I SAY! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!'_

_'That works too.'_ I cannot help but chuckle in amusement. Mewtwo's fun is infectious. _'And Mewtwo?'_

_'Yes, my chosen one?'_

_ 'Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. I believe you are all of the above. Never change, Mewtwo.'_

_'Why, thank you, Jayce. I shall etch your kind words into my memory. To thine own self be true, I have always admired this part of you.'_

_'Why, thank you to you too.'_

_'Do you have any more quotes to share? I'm getting bored.'_

_'Doesn't stop you from reading my mind to find out more.'_

_'Oh right, silly me. Give me a moment to search for another… ah ha! BEWARE THE ANNOYINGNESS THAT IS GIOVANNI, GET THEE TO A NUNNERY! **GET THEE TO A NUNNERY!** OFF WITH HIS HEAD! **OFF WITH HIS HEAD!**'_

One thing's for certain. Mewtwo definitely has no idea what he's quoting.

* * *

"How did it go, Archer?"

"It's done, sir." Archer replied proudly from where he stood across his leader in the office of the secret hideout. Giovanni swiveled his chair around to face him, the expression on his face told Archer everything he needed to know about what Giovanni think about the success of Operation Mirage.

"I knew that I could count on you." Giovanni praised his most trusted subordinate with a proud grin. He had known and raised Archer since he was a young child ever since SKIP was eradicated. To him, all of his Executives are like his own children, but Archer had always been a little special. He truly thought of Archer as his own son and always trusted him to do the most important of tasks. It has always been that way ever since his best friend, Archer's father, was killed in cold blood by Kain and he and Ariana took Archer in and raised the boy like he was their own.

That same boy had become a man and is now his most trusted subordinate. Archer had also never let him down, not even once.

Team Rocket became what it is today because of many reasons, but the main reason why it still remains standing is because of the tight control of information within the organisation. There are only two people within the entire organisation that know the full extent of the organisation's operations, reach, and capabilities, and that is him and his wife. Even his Executives will never know the full picture of what Team Rocket truly is. It's not that he doesn't trust his Executives, he trusts them with his life but sometimes absolute loyalty will never be enough to protect Team Rocket's secrets. SKIP fell not because anyone was disloyal to their cause, it was because the information was forcefully extracted from his comrade which led to a series of unfortunate events that led to its extermination.

For the sake of their goals, whatever had happened to SKIP can never be permitted to happen ever again. They will ensure it through any means necessary.

It was because of SKIP's extermination that he experienced that when he and his wife first founded Team Rocket, they both agreed that nobody else other than the two of them will ever know the full extent of the organisation in any way, shape, or form. It's not a matter of trust, it's a matter of necessity. Operation SKIP is a big operation, one only made possible because of the hard work of his trusted Executives. Plague's proposed method to take down the corrupt Indigo Government is a bold move, but Giovanni can see the beauty in it. Like Plague said, if executed well, it might be able to sway the entire Kanto region to fight for their cause in one fell swoop.

Still, Giovanni cannot help but be amused at the thought of his newest Executive. Plague may not realise it himself, but he does have a flair for the dramatics despite always acting in a way to draw the least attention to himself. Every single big operation that he had a hand in planning is always flashy in its execution, yet somehow nobody ever knew that he was the one behind every single act he had done in Team Rocket's name.

"If it wasn't for Petrel's prior contributions in Operation Access, Operation Mirage wouldn't have succeeded. I couldn't have done it alone." Archer spoke, bringing Giovanni out of his thoughts. "Our success is indeed a cause for celebrations, are we going to inform the other Executives what we had achieved?"

"Let's only reveal it on the big day itself." Giovanni replied after giving the matter some thought. "Not just because for the sake of absolute secrecy, but knowing when to reveal information is also another key part to winning a war. What we now have on our hands can be a great morale booster on that day itself. Resources, infrastructure, preparations, logistics, firepower. Every single basic requirement to win a war is now in our hands while Indigo remains ignorant of what we are planning and severely underprepared for what is to come. Now, all we need is morale. I know it doesn't feel good to hide certain things from our trusted comrades, but for the sake of our beliefs, it must be done. I'm sorry, Archer. I know how you feel about this but I will still ask this much from you. Considering the importance of what we just acquired, I still feel that there is a need to keep the existence and success of Operation Mirage under wraps."

"I understand." Archer replied as he took out three master balls from his pocket and presented them to Giovanni. The master ball is a recent invention that they only managed to invent and acquire through their secret control over Silph Co and their collaboration with Team Galactic. The world still doesn't know the existence of such a powerful pokeball. Nobody but them.

"In that case, I will leave them in your care, sir."

"You keep them." Giovanni stated without hesitation because Archer has his full and complete trust. "You earned this, Archer, they are now yours to command. You will have the honour of commanding them into battle on the day itself."

Archer's surprise is evident on his face, but he recovered quickly.

"If you are certain, then I will do my best to meet your expectations." Archer replied with confidence before putting the three master balls back in his pocket. "I assume that Petrel had managed to infiltrate Indigo HQ and steal what we needed?"

"He completed Operation Acquire splendidly." Giovanni nodded in affirmation with a smile on his face. With Petrel's success in stealing the Clear Bell and the Tidal Bell, Team Rocket can now finally devise a way to acquire the Rainbow Wing and Silver Wing. Kanto's legend of the Thu-Fi-Zer can finally be recreated and made a reality.

"It seems that working with Team Galactic was the right choice to make. We wouldn't have achieved such success otherwise." Giovanni said with a smile of satisfaction on his face as he leaned back to rest on the backseat of his office chair. Everything that they had been fighting for, it will come to fruition very soon.

He's eager to see everything come to a complete success.

"As much as it hurts my ego to admit, I can agree that the organisation is indeed behind the Galactics when it comes to Pokemon Capture and Control Technology." Archer apparently shared the same sentiments as well with his truth admission. "I take it that Proton and Plague had all completed everything on their end as well?"

"They did." Giovanni replied with a vague answer since the tasks that he assigned to Proton and Plague is not something Archer should be aware of.

Each of his Executives are entrusted with very specific and important tasks that are to be completed before the start of Operation Skip. Archer's was Operation Mirage, Petrel's was Operation Access and Operation Acquire, Proton's was the Growth Project, Plague's was the Mewtwo Project and Operation Ruin. At most, each of his Executive would know the vague idea of what one other Executive is tasked to do to avoid confusion or accidental interference with their specific tasks, just like how Archer has very brief knowledge that Petrel is involved in Operation Acquire and nothing else.

Once again, such an arrangement was done for the sake of secrecy. A similar arrangement was also what SKIP had adopted during its days. The precautions that SKIP took ensured that not all of them perished that fateful night. It was their only saving grace.

"I am looking forward to seeing if the powers of the Thu-Fi-Zer is indeed as unstoppable as it was told in the legends." Giovanni stated in both curiosity and expectance. "They are the very forces that represent the might of Kanto, the original protectors of our motherland. If what the legends stated are indeed true, once the Thu-Fi-Zer is born even Johto's Tower Duo would not be able to handle the full might of the Thu-Fi-Zer."

"And Mewtwo can easily handle Johto's Legendary Beasts on its lonesome." Archer completed Giovanni's train of thoughts without missing a beat. "With that, we are now not only equal to Johto in terms of firepower, but are superior to them. I truly believe that Zapmolcuno can handle the full might of Ho-oh and Lugia combined."

_"Thu-Fi-Zer."_ Giovanni corrected Archer out of habit. They had been through this argument many times. "The name Zapmolcuno is such a mouthful."

"I guess this is where we agree to disagree." Archer said in good jest. "Zapmolcuno is indeed a name that is more well known and it's easier to strike fear into the hearts of Johtonians using this name than using Thu-Fi-Zer. I still strongly contest for using the name of Zapmolcuno for our Winged Mirages."

"And you should give credit to the origins of the legends of the Winged Mirages. The Thu-Fi-Zer is their original name. The name Zapmolcuno is merely a bad transliteration."

"But sir, nobody ever knows what the Thu-Fi-Zer is. Zapmolcuno, I _insist _that we use the name of Zapmolcuno."

"Tell you what. We ask for Ariana's opinion on this issue and see which is the better name. The loser has to treat everyone to a drink once Operation Skip is over, deal?"

"I'm in if you are in for it, sir. Petrel will definitely be very happy that he can drink for free. You know how much he loves his alcohol."

"Drinks on you then."

"I'm very sure Ariana would agree with me on using the name Zapmolcuno. The drinks will be on you, sir."

"For the last time, Archer, it's _Thu-Fi-Zer_."

* * *

There's really nothing else for me to do once I had successfully helped Mewtwo complete his body and helped Team Rocket steal every single bit of information they need about Kain and the corrupt Indigo Government. Operation Ruin, that was the name of the operation that needed me to use Team Rocket's porygon army to hack and infiltrate into the database of the Indigo Government without anyone the wiser and copied everything we found there, effectively stealing all of Indigo's secrets. Honestly, it would have been a lot harder if it wasn't for the fact that I exploited my status and authority as Kain's private agent and cooperated with Nosy from within. It was what made that unknown breach in Indigo's cybersecurity possible.

Have to give Indigo's cybersecurity some credit alright.

What I do not know is what tasks my other Executives are entrusted to complete. I do know a little about Proton's task, and that is amassing the army we need on the big day itself, but that's it. There's nothing further I can do to dig up more without raising suspicions from my fellow Executives and from Giovanni, so I have no choice but to give up in pursuing this matter lest my cover was blown.

All I can hope is that Lance had indeed taken my warning seriously and is doing his best to prepare for the unknown. If not, Indigo might really fall. There's really nothing much that I can help anymore, I'm at my limit.

WIth more free time on my end means more time for me to daydream and let my thoughts wander. I sat on my chair in my own private office as my hand held a piece of paper in hand. My eyes have been looking over that same page over and over again for the past two hours, the only thing that will ever prove that she ever existed.

**_Operative Number_**_: 2043_

**_Code Name_**_: Pikachu_

**_Known given birth name_**_: Jane Green Oak_

**_Place of abduction_**_: Azalea Town_

**_Date of abduction_**_: Year 509, February 22nd_

My fingers gently skimmed across the printed copy of Jane's profile as I read it for what seems to be the thousandth time. Her picture is at the top right corner. She is smiling. How long has it been since I last saw her face? In my mad quest to rise to be Executive, I had never kept a picture of her for fear of having anyone doubting my loyalty to Team Rocket if they found out about how I truly felt about Jane, the traitor to the organisation, so the only time I can see her face again is in my nightmares and those are getting lesser and lesser day by day ever since the Hypnosis on me came undone. For once, I actually missed having nightmares.

Not anymore. Things are coming to an end very soon, I can finally keep a picture of her on me. I now have a picture of her to remember her by when I start to miss seeing her face again. I had printed a small passport sized photo of her and it is now in my wallet. It is the same image that I am looking at right now which is also printed on her operative profile.

And I really miss her. Now, more than ever. I really want to see her again and tell her that everything is finally coming to an end. I will break this cycle of hatred, one way or another. All the hate, all the injustice, and especially all the greed and corruption, I will vanquish it soon enough. It's time for Indigo to usher in an era of change, all for the greater good. Our sacrifices will not be for nothing. 358 of us had perished but they would not have died in vain, I will see to that.

Oak. Jane's an Oak all along. Talk about a cruel twist of fate. With such a prominent family as her background she could have been anything she wanted to be. She could have been so much more. Her life was so bright. She could do anything and succeed simply by being an Oak.

She need not have died. Killed by my own two hands no less.

I sighed and closed my eyes, leaning back into my office chair and enjoying some semblance of privacy and silence within these four walls. I've always been searching for answers, searching for the truth, and when I finally got them all in the palm of my hand I found myself wishing that I'd never seeked them out in the first place.

Jane Green Oak. Her full name is Jane Green Oak.

I unlocked and opened the top drawer at the bottom of my desk, bringing out the printed copy of the file on Project Illusion that I have copied and retrieved when I sent Nosy and his porygon army to hack into the Government's database undetected and dig out every single dirt I could find on Kain. I recognise many of these faces. How could I not? Once upon a time, we did everything together, all 359 of us. We train, eat, sleep, cry, laugh, bleed, we had done everything together as members of Project Illusion, brainwashed to do Kain's bidding and believing that everything we did is for the greater good.

The file on Project Illusion is the only thing that I never gave Lance and Giovanni. Not only that, I had wiped all traces of my existence and deleted my own profile in the Government database. As of now, officially, there is no Operative 2046 in Indigo. Not any longer. Kain won't be noticing the breach anytime soon, he's too busy to do so and he's the only one who has access to files with secrecy as high as Project Illusion. When the date to the finale comes closer I will have Nosy erase my identity as Jacob Myers as well. After that, I can finally be rid of my past and shed all of my false identities.

Once this is all over, I can finally be myself. I can finally be Jayce, the identity which she picked for me and what I will choose to be.

I idly flipped to the page that I had deleted from the Government's database after I had copied what I needed. Looking right back at me on the top right hand corner of the page is a picture of myself. The picture was taken around the same time Jane had hers taken, about a year or two before her death when we had sneaked out of the organisation to report back to Kain and update our personal particulars. It's been almost a decade since then, I think. It's been about eight years since I had killed her. When I had Nosy and his gang of nosy parkers to hack the Government's database I had also wanted to know who I truly am. Now, I have the answers I seek, but I really wish that I had not known about it the moment I saw what is documented on my profile.

**_Operative Number_**_: 2046_

**_Code Name_**_: Gengar_

**_Known given birth name_**_: NIL_

**_Place of abduction_**_: Pallet Town_

**_Date of abduction_**_: Year 509, January 3rd_

**_Method of abduction_**_: Taken from family after setting Operative's house on fire. Operative's memory was subsequently modified. Operative family members believed operative to be dead since the body was never found._

**_Status: _**_Active_

**_Misc_**_: First son and child to Grimsley Dandolos. Operative was found to have a very strong affinity for dark types even as an infant. Reason for such an affinity was never found._

I am Grimsley's son. I am the son of an Elite Four from another region. It was only after managing to get my hands on the complete file on Project Illusion and looking through every single page that I realise Kain has a hobby of collecting children from prominent families or whose parents are established people within their field of expertise. Jane's family and mine are not the only big names I had seen in this file. There are many others. It seems that Kain is obsessed with our pedigree when he first started his abduction plan to kickstart Project Illusion.

With this piece of information to tell me what I need to know, I guess all of my prior memories of joining Project Illusion at around the age of three was fake as well. Nothing that I remembered about my past prior to meeting Jane seems to be real and I will never know what is the truth in that hazy period of my life. Damn Kain and his stupid hypno. Glad that hypno's dead.

I know Grimsley. When I first started my path to be a Dark Specialist I had used everything I have and could find to know more about every single famous or infamous Dark Specialist alive or dead. It was to learn how to be a proper Dark Specialist. I know that Grimsley's wife and youngest son had passed away, that piece of news is not exactly private. Now, he thinks that he is the only one left in his family because I had supposedly perished in that fire when I was abducted from him more than two decades ago, an incident that I have no recollection of.

I really wish that I was from some no name family with a few members still around or simply an orphan plucked off the streets. At least I would not be so conflicted if that were the case.

Fact is, I'm dying. It's just a matter of time before I croak and kick the bucket. I don't even know if I will survive what is to come this coming National Day. If I go out and inform Grimsley that his eldest son is not dead and is in fact, still alive, but then give him a plot twist that said son is about to die soon from an incurable disease, it will be too cruel to him. I don't want to imagine the emotional rollercoaster he will have to go through when he finds out that I am alive all along only to later find out that he will lose me as fast as he had found me. I don't want him to experience this needless heartache and drama. I'm a criminal. If people found out that someone of his status has a son who is also one of the most notorious criminals in the world's history, the pressure and scorn he will face from the public and from the Unova League is no laughing matter. I don't want him to ruin his life for a son that by all means, he had already lost no matter what he chooses to do.

There's nothing in it for him in knowing the truth, that the son he thought he had lost for more than twenty-two years is in fact alive but about to die soon. I don't want to shower him with this cruel truth and have him face the scorn of the world for my sake. It's not worth it, not when I'm slowly dying from within.

Still, at least I now know a little about myself. I may not have been with my family long enough to have been given a name since I was apparently abducted just a week after arriving into this world as a baby, but now I know that I am a Dandolos, a member of a distinguished family of Unova. My father is an Elite Four. With this piece of information I went to dig further using what resources I have on hand and found out that my mother is a Kantonian who had worked under Professor Samuel Oak for a short while before she married my father. I had a younger brother, his name is Asher, also a Dark Specialist and a historian. From what Nosy had found out for me Asher had died in the Lacunosa Invasion just a few months back when Team Plasma struck. I would never get to know my mother or younger brother, something which I truly regret. I now know my true age. I am twenty-two this year. Jane is apparently older than me by two years, which is kind of funny now that I think about it because we had always thought that I am the older one.

I'm a Dandolos. I now have something to pin my identity to. I do have family in this world, I'm not just any random orphan plucked off the streets that I thought I was. I do have an identity and I did not simply drop into this world from out of nowhere.

I finally have an identity. I finally have something to call myself by, even if I will never tell anyone else about this. For everyone's sake, I will bring this secret with me to my grave. I do not need my father getting involved in my mess, a mess which will be nothing but detrimental for him. I do not wish for him to experience another heartache again, not after how he just lost his son to Team Plasma, another notable terrorist organisation in this world that is similar to Team Rocket, only to find out that his oldest son ended up as a terrorist, the one thing that took away his only family member left after his wife passed away five years back.

God, why is this world so cruel?

My resolve made, I picked up a lighter and lit it, letting the bottom right corner of my printed profile catch fire and watched as it slowly burned away in the ashtray that I never used which is placed at the corner of my office desk. With this, nobody will ever know that 2046 exists. With this, nobody will ever know that Grimsley's oldest son is in fact, alive. In just a few more days, Nosy will ensure that even the name Jacob Myers will be silently erased from existence without anyone finding out. There will be nothing left to indicate that I had once been here in this world.

I'm not supposed to be here anyway, interfering with the affairs of a world that I don't belong to. Someone like me is not supposed to be here in a world that was once fiction. This is for the best. Whatever secrets that I had found out, whatever wrongs that I had committed, let it all end with my death. I do not want to feed into this endless cycle of hatred and grief any longer. I just want everything to end.

This is for the greater good.

I watched as the paper slowly burned and turned to ash, watching as the fire consume the only thing left that can prove who I really am. From this day onwards, Operative 2046, codename Gengar is no more. In a few days time, Jacob Myers will be no more. After National Day, Executive Plague will be no more. In about two weeks I will be a nameless existence that doesn't exist in a world that I shouldn't be in. All that is left for me to do after I end Kain and help Lance end Team Rocket is to let Jane's family know where her grave is at. She deserves to be buried in a place much better than that unmarked spot in Viridian Forest. She should be placed to rest in her hometown alongside her parents.

After all that is done, I will need to find people that will and can take care of my pokemon. I need to find kind people that are willing to take them in, however broken they might be, before I pass on. It's my responsibility as their trainer that I do so. After that, I can finally rest in peace, and so will my secrets.

There's really not much to do now other than to wait. For once, there's nothing much to do than to relax and enjoy my time before everything starts going to shit again.

Jane's revenge, I will get it. The corruption in Indigo, I will help uproot it. Team Rocket, I will exterminate it. For Jane's sake, for my sake, for the sake of all 359 operatives who were unjustly taken from their homes and thrust into a life that they never wanted to live, I will see it done. I will see that the curtain for the finale falls as it should have fallen a long time ago. I will see that every single gamble I took pays its due dividends. I will see to it that the sacrifices made by my fellow operatives will be remembered by Indigo, as a reminder to not let something like this happen again. Too many lives had been needlessly lost to protect this fragile facade of peace. 358 people had paid the price, now it's the turn for the 359th to do so in order to bring things to a close.

It's time to exterminate all the wrongs and make things right.

We're not accepting any objections.

* * *

**AN: Zapmolcuno, or also known as Thu-Fi-Zer in certain translations, is a pokemon that is the fusion of zapdos, moltres, and articuno. It is an entity unique to the Pokemon Adventures manga, an adaptation of the pokemon series which was what truly made me fell in love with pokemon. The introduction of the Zapmolcuno is my way of paying tribute to the Pokemon Adventures manga, which had gave me many happy memories in my childhood while I was reading it.**

**Of course, this doesn't mean that the pokemon world that I am writing about is the world of Pokemon Adventures. I'm merely incorporating one element of it into my story.**

**Just in case you guys are interested in knowing, in the English translation of the Pokémon Adventures manga, Thu-Fi-Zer does not have an official name. The term "Zapmolcuno," was given by Coronis of which reflects its Japanese name, ****サ・ファイ・ザー**** Thu-Fi-Zer, a combination of the Legendary birds' Japanese names **Thu**nder, **Fi**re, and ****Free**zer**. This particular bit of trivia was also what inspired me to write about the small disagreement Giovanni and Archer had in regards on how to refer to Zapmolcuno as Zapmolcuno or as the Thu-Fi-Zer.**

**As always, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.**

**Character and Pokemon List:**

**Name: Jayce**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Real identity: Oldest son to Grimsley Dandolos**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**


	20. Chapter 19- Overture

"Look at the stars, look how they shine for you. And everything you do, yeah they were all yellow."

It's not the first time he visited this place through Jayce's senses, but this is definitely the first time he ever heard him sing.

"I came along, I wrote a song for you. And all the things you do, and it was called _Yellow._"

And truthfully, he thinks that Jayce has a really nice voice. He doesn't know how Jayce's voice sounds in comparison to other humans, but Mewtwo really thinks that Jayce really should sing more often.

"So then I took my turn, oh what a thing to have done. And it was all yellow."

They are in front of her grave again, with Jayce sitting in front of her playing a guitar he brought along from his house in Viridian and singing her a song he remembered from his past life. Mewtwo can sense Jayce's pokemon lounging around him, no doubt also silently listening to their trainer singing for Jane and enjoying the simple melody he is singing and the chords his fingers are strumming on the guitar.

Can a pokemon like him learn how to play the guitar too? He only has three fingers instead of five but there's no harm trying, is there? Alright, one more thing to check off his bucket list when he finally frees himself from this accursed M2 Bind. Would Jayce be willing to lend him his guitar if he asked?

"Your skin. Oh yeah, your skin and bones. Turn into something beautiful. You know, you know I love you so."

There was a slight pause, then the singing and strumming continued.

"You know I love you so."

Unlike pokemon, humans place a lot more importance on the concept of 'privacy'. While he is sure Jayce wouldn't say a word even if he rummaged through his more private memories like what he did when they first met, Mewtwo had grown to learn how to respect the privacy of others, something he had learnt while observing the world around them through Jayce's eyes. Even then, even when he purposefully blocked his access to Jayce's private memories unless he really needed to tap on them, Mewtwo doesn't need to be human to understand the complicated mixture of emotions Jayce is feeling when he sings those words just now.

"I swam across, I jumped across for you. Oh what a thing to do, cos you were all yellow."

He had never seen Jayce so relaxed in the short span of time they had known each other. It's funny, how his workload and how the burden on his shoulders decreased exponentially the closer they were to reaching their final goal. You would have thought it would be the other way round. Jayce actually found time to pick the guitar up again and tried singing once again. According to Jayce's pokemon, it's been a very long time since they heard Jayce sing and he usually only does it in private behind closed doors.

"I drew a line, I drew a line for you. Oh what a thing to do. And it was all yellow."

_'Nosy, you are recording this, right?'_

_'Affirmative.'_

Jayce would skin them all alive if he ever knew that his singing is being recorded but hey, Jayce's voice is very nice to listen to. It's a pity if nobody else hears it and...

"Your skin. Oh yeah your skin and bones. Turn into something beautiful. And you know."

If Mewtwo has to be truthful to himself, he knows that day will come very soon. As an artificial pokemon created to be on par and even stronger than Legendary Pokemon, he will outlive Jayce even if they are not embarking on this last and suicide mission. It's a selfish thought on his part, but he does want something to remember his friend by.

His first friend.

"For you I'd bleed myself dry... For you I'd bleed myself dry."

Jayce's voice turned a little hoarse at that part. It's true, that Jayce had more than just bled himself dry in his struggle to do the right thing ever since he started out as a double agent at a young age. He sacrificed his time, youth, health, joy, love, all for the sake of trying to do the right thing and making the best out of the crappy hand he had been dealt with.

"It's true."

A Legendary Pokemon is supposed to be a tier of pokemon with strength so powerful that they can achieve the impossible. It is during times like this that he wished he wasn't created for the sole purpose of war. If _only _he has some sort of skill or ability to heal, or even just _halt _the illness that is ailing Jayce…

Why must he be created for the sole purpose of destruction? Why couldn't he be created for the purpose of creation?

"Look how they shine for you, look how they shine for you, look how they shine for… Look how they shine for you, look how they shine for you, look how they shine…"

If only his friend could shine in the light just once. Just once. If Jayce had the chance to live his life like any ordinary person would Mewtwo has no doubts that he would shine brighter than anybody else. They probably would have never met since his father is an Unovan, but Jayce would have shine brighter than any star in the dark night sky.

"Look at the stars, look how they shine for you. And all the things that you do…"

Jayce's voice trailed off at the end, his fingers that were strumming the guitar slowly coming to a stop. As if a spell had been lifted, his pokemon that were around him and listening to his voice in silence started to stir again. Jayce simply stared at Jane's grave, lost in his thoughts for a period of time before he put down the guitar and placed it in front of her grave.

_'You are leaving it behind?'_

_'I wouldn't have a chance to play it again after today. Might as well leave it here to accompany her.'_

_'That guitar was her gift to you, wasn't it?'_

_'It was. It was the first gift I ever received. Still had no idea how she managed to get one without the other three hundred and fifty plus people finding out. Now that I think about it, she had probably stolen the guitar from somewhere. That made the most sense.'_

Jayce got up to his feet and began to recall most of his pokemon, only leaving gengar and houndoom outside to accompany him. Jayce gave Jane's grave one last look before walking off. This is the last time that they would be here to visit her because very likely, after today, Jayce wouldn't be able to do so anymore.

The risks that his self-imposed mission entails leads to a very miniscule chance of him returning back alive. They all know this.

_'What are you planning to do after this is all over?'_

_'Hmm? Me?'_

_'Who else would I be talking to?'_

Mewtwo mentally hummed in thought. Jayce did ask a good question, _what _will he do after he gains his freedom?

_'Probably go out and see the world. I want to explore Kanto, to see the land that I was originally created to protect. And then go out and see many fascinating things and learn as much as I can. Like how the doduo species has more than one heads, how other legendaries look like and fare against me. I'm interested in meeting my so-called progenitor as well, the one known as Mew. I have so many things to do that I am actually at a loss of what to do.'_

_'Going out to see the world will be nice.' _Jayce agreed._ 'The world is definitely a huge place, there's a lot to learn.'_

_'We can go together?'_

_'I doubt I will live past National Day.'_

_'What if you did live past National Day?'_

_'I will cross that bridge if I ever get there.'_

_'Will you visit your birth father in this world?'_

_'No. It's more trouble than it's worth for the both of us. Let him think that I'm still dead, it's better for the both of us that way.'_

_'I still think that he has a right to know.'_

_'And I have the right to not let him know.' _Jayce snarked back before giving a soft sigh.

_'But… I would probably go to Unova if I somehow have the chance to live just a little longer, just to pay a visit to my mother and younger brother that I will never meet. That's about it.'_

_'If you do live past that fateful day, I will do all I can to help you search for a cure.'_

_'I appreciate the sentiments, but that is not needed. I won't have a purpose to live for after that day. What is the point to living if that is the case?'_

_'I beg to differ. One can always find a new purpose in life, just like how you taught me. Why aren't you doing what you preach?' _Mewtwo replied, but Jayce made no response.

Is that Jayce's answer? A lack of answer? Fine, two can play at this game. Like he said before, he's a psychic in mind, dark type by heart. Jayce can do things his way for all he wants. _He_, will do things the way _he _wants. He is Mewtwo, he can do anything once he sets his mind to it.

Starting from trying to find a cure for his first friend.

* * *

"Come, why the long face, eh? Cheer up! _Smile! _Even Olwen is smiling! C'mon, give me a smile~"

Henrik used both his index fingers to poke and push my cheeks upwards the moment I entered the living room of the safehouse where Giovanni and Alice are currently staying at, forcing me to smile.

"Smiling's not my thing." I replied as I gently pushed Henrik's fingers away. Henrik merely laughed out loud before slinging an arm around my shoulder.

"It's simply a matter of habit. Smiling is something everyone should do and enjoy! A smile a day keeps the bad thoughts at bay! Come to think about it, I had never seen you smile before. HEY ARAWN!"

"WHAT?!" Arawn yelled out from where he was in the kitchen, busy preparing… some sort of salad or something.

"HAVE YOU EVER SEEN JACOB SMILE?"

"NO! AND STOP SHOUTING! SILVER IS SLEEPING!"

"YOU ARE SHOUTING TOO!"

"_Shut up_, both of you. The both of you will wake Silver up at this rate." Olwen hissed from where he was sitting on the couch in the living room, baby Silver in his arms. Thankfully, Silver had always been a heavy sleeper. It takes a bit of effort to wake him up.

"It's fine, it's about time we have to feed Silver anyway."

Alice announced her presence as she came out from her room together with Giovanni, dressed in casual clothes. Tomorrow, we will be enacting our plans. It will be my last act as the Rocket's Exterminator.

Tonight, we, the top echelons of Team Rocket, will be having a feast together. It was Giovanni's suggestion that all of us come together tonight to relax and hang out before we go to war tomorrow. No matter what happens, this will be my last meal with them, the last time all of us will be sitting together at the same table as friends.

I decided to make myself useful in the kitchen while the rest of them are busy fussing over Silver. Archer is still hard at work. We had wanted to just have the chefs prepare a good meal for us but Archer was insistent on doing the cooking himself no matter what anybody else says.

"Do you need some help?"

"Jacob?" Arawn turned around upon hearing my voice, hands still busy cutting something with a knife. "Yeah, why not. See the clams over there? And the big bottle of sake? Pour the sake in the skillet together with some water, bring it to a boil, then add the clams into it. It's pretty easy, can't mess that up."

"Using sake to cook clams?"

"I'm making sake-steamed clams, it's a popular dish back in my hometown."

"Lavender. You are from Lavender and Lavender is known for their sake." I said in realisation.

"That's right. The folks in lavender could make any dish using sake, sake is part of our culture." Arawn nodded in agreement without facing me, his attention still directed to whatever he is trying to prepare. I wordlessly moved to help Arawn in preparing the sake-steamed clams as he had instructed. Now that I thought about it, Arawn had prepared something similar when we Executives had our own little gathering back at Henrik's house the other day.

And huh, from the label on the bottle, this bottle of sake has to be a very fine bottle of sake.

"Henrik's right. You never do smile, do you? I can remember seeing Olwen smiling at least once or twice but I never did remember seeing you smile."

I glanced back towards Arawn, who is still hard at work with his back facing me. Without turning back to face me, he continued.

"Learn to smile, Jacob. In our line of work knowing how to smile is important for our mental health. We will all go crazy otherwise."

"I will keep that in mind." I replied as I poured the required amount of water and sake into the skillet before turning on the heat, waiting for it to boil.

"Nah, you are listening but you are not understanding. I can tell even without looking at your face. I'm serious. It's for your own good. Come, try to smile."

The edge of my lips twitched a little, but that was about it. What's there to smile about? Especially right now?

Nothing.

The water-sake mixture had boiled by now, so I tossed the clams inside as per Arawn's instructions. It only took a few minutes before the clams opened and just like that, the dish was done.

"Oh good, you finished just in time." Arawn said as he peered over my shoulder. He took over the pan and poured its contents into a large bowl and proceeded to top it with a little butter and also garnish the dish with a healthy dash of scallions.

"Food's done!" Arawn yelled out as the both of us brought the dishes to the dining table. Silver had finished his meal by now and from the looks of it, about to doze off once more. Just how much does a baby sleep anyway?

"-and just like that, I fooled the vendor and got myself a senior citizen discount! Do you want to see some magic? Here, one, two, three!"

Dinner was a light-hearted affair, although the conversation was mostly directed and dominated by Henrik due to his chatty personality. True to his moniker as the Toxic Mask, he easily slipped on a lifelike disguise within a single second, making all of us look on in disbelief. Now, he looks exactly like an old man and we wouldn't have known even if we passed by each other on the streets. It's not the first time we had witnessed his skills in disguise but it still amazes us every single time we see it in action. Henrik's skills in disguise really is something else.

"Tada! Not bad, eh?"

"I can already imagine it, you babysitting Silver with your little tricks when he is a few more years older." Olwen said with a snort, eliciting laughs from everyone present. Well, everyone except for me, that is. The most I managed was a very faint smile that's entirely fake.

"I wouldn't be surprised because _unlike you_, children love me!" Henrik argued back while taking a piece of tofu for himself using his chopsticks.

"Yeah, because you act like a _clown_."

"Oh, picking a fight now, are you? Me and you, outside, now!"

"Oh _sure_, let's go!" Arawn said before both he and Henrik took a pause, then laughed out loud at the same time.

"Morons." Olwen muttered while helping himself to another serving of grilled fish, only for Arawn's hand to come down on his head and forcefully ruffled his hair.

"Say what now, iceboy? I think I heard ya say something?"

"Get your hand _off _me." Olwen half-scowled as he tried to escape Arawn's grasp, only to fail when Arawn got him in a headlock.

"Tickle party!" Henrik whooped as he joined in the fun, ignoring Olwen's shouts of protest. Giovanni and Alice laughed at the sight while I simply watched on.

"Oh hey look, Jacob's smiling! We did it, Arawn!"

I blinked in slight confusion, only to realise in the next second that my lips were indeed curled into a smile. They were doing all of these silly acts, all just to make me smile?

"Oh, I see now, so I'm the sacrifice." Olwen said in mild irritation, although there's no bite in the tone of his voice.

"Who else? You want me to go tickle boss or lady boss?" Henrik said with a roll of his eyes before reaching my side in a second and slung his arm across my shoulders once more, trapping me in a headlock like how Arawn did to Olwen just now.

"You really need to lighten up, Jacob! I know maybe you are getting the heebies jeebies since the big day is tomorrow but there's no use in fretting over it, yea? We already did all we could, everything will go fine tomorrow! Ain't that right, boss?"

"Henrik's right. Everything will be alright. You have never failed us before and I believe you will never fail us." Giovanni nodded as he took a sip of sake from his cup. "Even if things are not alright, Alice and I will ensure that it will be alright, so just relax and do what you always do, Jacob."

"Yeah! If anything goes wrong on your end big bro Henrik will be the first to come to your rescue!" Henrik laughed out loud as he raised his cup into the air. "Cheers!"

"Hmph, with that pace of yours even I would reach Jacob before you do."

"Say again, Arawn?! I'm older than you so respect your elders, geddit?!"

"Har? You certainly don't act like you are the eldest. Right, Olwen?"

"Both of you are equally bad."

**"OI!"**

Amidst the banter and laughter, Alice had taken out a bottle of red wine from a nearby cupboard and brought it to the table, catching all our attention.

"Giovanni and I were planning on saving this bottle for tonight, when we are all together like this." Alice said with a smile as she easily uncorked the bottle and poured some wine into six empty glasses. When she was done, only half of the bottle's contents remained. Giovanni handed us a glass each the moment Alice was done.

"I firmly believe that victory will be ours tomorrow, but this is war, anything can happen. As your leader, I want all of you to complete your respective missions to the best of your ability as Team Rocket's Executives. As your friend, I have only one wish, and that is to return back alive no matter what. Broken dreams can be rebuilt, but lives lost can never be taken back."

Giovanni said that with a smile, taking a pause before continuing.

"When we finally free our motherland from Johto's tyranny, we will have a greater feast than today. It won't be just us. Every Kantonian will not only have enough to fill their stomachs and have a roof over their heads, they will have enough to have a feast whenever they want to. People will no longer live their lives as the oppressed, the children of our motherland will grow up smiling and be able to achieve their dreams no matter what background they are from. For Kanto's future, this is what we are fighting for.

He raised his glass in our direction and pointed to the now half-empty wine bottle.

"The other half of the wine, Alice and I will keep it for now. Once everything is over and we return victorious, we will finish the remaining half together at the Indigo Plateau when the Indigo is no more. That is our promise to each other, as comrades, and as family."

"Well said, boss! _As comrades, as family!_" Henrik laughed happily, which the others joined in with either their own laughs or smile. I, on the other hand, had to make a visible effort despite all the spy training drilled in me to ensure that the hand I am using to hold my glass isn't shaking.

_As comrades, as family._

_Comrades, family._

"H-Hey. Jacob, you alright? Why are you crying?"

"Huh?"

My free hand quickly went up to dab at the area near my eyes. To my surprise, I felt the wetness slowly trickling down my cheeks. My vision is starting to blur.

Why am I suddenly crying? When was the last time that I actually cried?

"S-Sorry. I..." I tried to steady my quivering voice and quickly used the back of my hand to get rid of the needless tears from my eyes. With a deep breath, I succeeded in getting a handle on my emotions and put on my perfect mask as Executive Plague once more.

"It's fine. We understand." Alice said gently with a smile as she used a tissue to personally dab away the remnants of the tears from my face, not giving me a chance to refuse.

"What are you apologising for? Tears are not a sign of weakness, not in front of us." Olwen said to me before releasing a short breath. "Family, huh? Sure brings back memories. It's not just you, I nearly broke my composure too."

"Maybe I should have worded my sentence better." Giovanni admitted. "Jacob grew up not knowing what a family is and Olwen did lose his. I definitely had dragged up certain unpleasant memories for them both."

"Not your fault, boss. Besides, we all like the idea of family, eh? You are definitely old enough to be our dad! Dadvanni, HAH!"

"Oi, I told you many times that the topic of our age is taboo."

"You are… er… lemme count real quick." Henrik's fingers on his free hand made a quick motion of calculating figures before he came to an answer. "Fifty this year, am I right?!"

"... Fifty-one."

"Definitely old enough! I'm the oldest and I'm only thirty-two!"

"Make fun of my age one more time and I will confiscate your entire wine collection. Not only that, I will make sure to put a ban on whoever supplies your wine collection."

"W-Wha? _Come on!_" Henrik choked on air upon hearing Giovanni's threat. Arawn only laughed even louder, knowing very well just how much Henrik loves his alcohol.

"You had it coming." Olwen replied with a snort.

"I liked the nickname though, Dadvanni." Alice said with a laugh. "I guess that makes me the mother of you rowdy children?"

"Sure, we don't mind! So, Mumlice, Mumriana? I think Mumriana sounds nicer for some reason. Whaddya think, Jacob?" Henrik said with a cheeky grin while nudging me with an elbow.

"Uh, yea." I replied lamely, my mind still not really in working order as of yet.

"See? Even our little brother Jacob says so! Hey, I know I know! We should take a family portrait later to celebrate this moment! How about it?"

"Hmm, I do have a camera in this safehouse that I use to take pictures of Silver. I will get it out later." Alice nodded in agreement.

This time, I felt it, the small smile resting on my face as I watched the ongoing banter in front of me. Family… I never thought I would feel such warmth here of all places, with them of all people.

Although, no matter who succeeded or failed, won or lost, the six of us would never be sharing the same drink together ever again, because I could never be on the same side as them. I could never be a part of this family.

"Alright, before the food really turns cold, let's toast." Giovanni raised his glass once more and we followed.

The glasses clinked against each other. Together, we downed the drink at the same time.

The taste is bittersweet.

* * *

**Character and Pokemon List:**

**Name: Jayce**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Real identity: Oldest son to Grimsley Dandolos**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1.** **Ninetales, female **

**2.** **Exeggutor, male**

**3.** **Weavile, male**

**4.** **Honchkrow, female**

**5.** **Gengar, female **

**6.** **Houndoom, male **

**7.** **Umbreon, male**

**8.** **Hydreigon, male **

**9.** **Drapion, female **

**10.** **Zoroark, male**

**11.** **Bisharp, male**

**12.** **Shiftry, male**

**13.** **Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**


	21. Chapter 20- Allegro

Today's the big day.

Morales are high, spirits are pumped. Team Rocket is more than ready to take over Indigo and subsequently, the entire world.

Sounds like a big joke. _World domination_. It's just not possible. Nobody had managed it since the beginning of time.

But if you are aware of what Team Rocket is truly capable of, then the threat suddenly seems all too real. It may not happen in the next year, the next five years, or maybe in the next decade. But two decades later? Three?

It's entirely possible, on the basis that Team Rocket did succeed in taking over Indigo today. If you are a part of Team Rocket, you will be eager, _enthusiastic_, because you are going to be taking part in an important turning point of the world's history. Giovanni and Ariana are surprisingly confident in Team Rocket's ability to take down a nation that has been around since more than 500 years ago and change the course of history.

And it just didn't make any sense to me.

Even after discounting the fact that I had already warned the Indigo. Resources, manpower, firepower, element of surprise, Mewtwo. Yes, all of these are crucial and they are needed to make Team Rocket's vision a reality. However, are they truly enough? No matter how weak Indigo may seem in current times it is still a nation that has a history of more than half a millennium. No matter how weak it seemingly is it is still a force to be reckoned with. I am not even talking about Indigo's legendaries that are known to make their appearance during the nation's times of crisis.

Can Team Rocket really take Indigo down today?

No matter how I think about this, for Giovanni and Ariana to be this confident means that they have another trump card. A trump card that is probably on the same value or higher than Mewtwo. A _legendary _level trump card.

And it terrifies me, because I have no idea just what Giovanni and Arianna is hiding from even me for them to be this confident. It's then I see the practicality and the need of having the level of information control Team Rocket is known to implement. It really works, even against an Executive like me.

One of the other Executives must have the information that I lack, the information regarding Team Rocket's hidden trump card. Information that even I am not made aware of. I would place my bet on Archer but knowing Giovanni, he might do the very opposite instead. It really could be anyone else.

Lance has to be warned about this. It's a little late, but better late than never. I don't have any concrete proof, all I have is my gut feeling and logical reasonings but it will have to do. Nosy can do the informing for me, the world of data and information is his battlefield. For the rest of us, our battles will be done the conventional way.

Our last battle.

To be honest, I am looking forward to it, my final battle. I'm tired. I want to rest. For all twenty-two years of my life I have been fighting and lying without an end in sight. It's time for things to stop, for things to become right once more. For the greater good. Using whatever it takes.

If there's one thing that I can take comfort in, it's that I'm not alone.

Today marks the conclusion of Project Illusion. No more illusions, no more lies. Let the sacrifices of three hundred and fifty-eight lives and their wills determine who comes out on top. Jane is with me, the other three hundred and fifty-seven operatives of Project Illusion are with me, Mewtwo is with me, my pokemon is with me.

Together, we may be individually weak. But together, we are dangerous. Dangerous enough to end Team Rocket for good. The grand finale that I had been orchestrating for over a decade is near.

Although, it's best if we do not have an encore. Let the price of breaking this vicious cycle be limited to just the three hundred and fifty-nine of us.

Like this, our sacrifices will mean something.

* * *

The execution of Operation Skip has officially commenced.

He is excited. How could he not be? He's been looking forward to this for _years_, to change things for the better.

Today, he is not doing this as Executive Petrel, but also as Henrik Amon.

"This is team Crobat. We are in position."

"Team Arbok, in position."

"Team Muk, we are ready."

Petrel grinned. Just like Plague had foresaw. Infiltrating into the Indigo Stadium is really easier than it seems.

"Petrel to all. Proceed."

"Roger."

With that, Petrel kicked back and relaxed from where he was sitting… within the control room of the Indigo Stadium.

_Too easy._

At one corner of the room, the original staff that are supposed to handle the celebration proceedings are tied up and unceremoniously tossed to a corner. They will not be waking up anytime soon. Around him, Petrel's most trusted subordinates are getting busy doing whatever they need to do to hack into the Indigo Stadium's network and defense system.

Every year without fail, the celebrations of Indigo's National Day will be televised live on TV to the entire world. Today, Team Rocket is here at Indigo Plateau, here at Indigo Stadium where the celebration proceedings of their nation's founding. They are here for one sole reason.

They are here to announce themselves to the world. It is irony at its finest, to announce their presence, to bring Indigo down on the day it was founded and expose all the hypocrisy and lies that Indigo has been fooling its people.

How fitting.

This is why everything that they are doing today must leave an impact so great that it will be remembered for the next few decades. This is why they are going into so much trouble to do what they have to do. A good start is half the battle won.

"Sir, we have successfully taken control of the stadium's defense system."

"Good. Carry on as we planned. Make sure we have definite control over the stadium's gates and shutters. Monitor the Indigo forces stationed within the stadium. They should move according to the schedule we dug out."

"Yes sir!"

Petrel grinned. Everything is going according to plan. So this is the plan Jacob had come up with to take Kain and Indigo down for good, eh? He can see why Giovanni was convinced. It is too tempting an opportunity to pass up on.

Now, he's curious as to what other surprises are in store.

* * *

Despite living in Indigo for more than two decades, this is my first time here at the Indigo Stadium.

The Indigo Stadium is famous and has a long history. Not just because it is one of the biggest and oldest stadiums the world has to offer, not just because the world's very first Pokemon League Tournament was held here, not just because this is where every important pokemon battle in the Indigo will be held, but also because this is one of the few places that can effectively contain the most destructive of pokemon without problems.

Yes, you read that right. The Indigo Stadium is capable of containing threats within and preventing them from coming out. Likewise, it is equally capable of defending everyone within from any external threats. You can think of it as an enormous bunker with its own sophisticated defense system. That description really isn't too far off that mark.

The Indigo Stadium became this way partly out of necessity, and partly due to its purpose of being a venue that can hold any form of pokemon related events, including extremely destructive pokemon battles on the Champion level. The stadium itself is built with the hardiest materials you could find. The numerous rooms, big or small, are also designed to contain destructive pokemon if there is a need for such an action. The entire stadium is strategically designed and separated into many sections, with large heavy metal gates and shutters positioned at key areas that can be immediately activated to quickly isolate a given section when needed if a pokemon within the stadium somehow goes berserk and needs immediate containment. Those gates and shutters are said to be near indestructible unless you are on a level of a Pillar.

Like with all important events, the VIPs are seated at a different section of the stadium away from the rest of the audiences. For an event as important as the celebration of a nation's founding, all the important figures are here. Good, bad, upright, corrupt, they are all present.

Meanwhile, I am dressed like any other participant of this year's celebration, a dark bluish purple that is the national colour of Indigo. Today, I'm one of the minorities within the organisation that do not need to wear the organisation's uniform.

I prefer that, actually. It's more symbolic this way.

My job as Executive Plague is to infiltrate the stadium and make my way towards where the VIPs are seated. While I can hold my own in a fight, fighting battles head-on isn't my forte. Sneaking around, assassination, and gathering information is. I will leave the fighting to everyone else. Today, I have only one goal.

Kain is mine.

With my pokemon's hypnosis and zoroark's illusion abilities at work, sneaking into my target location isn't hard. Regarding Kain, Giovanni's and my goal had always been aligned with each other. For that, I am willing to play the role of the Rocket's Exterminator for a little longer until I inevitably turn my blade towards Team Rocket to exterminate them instead.

I leaned against a wall as I waited for the celebrations to kick off. Already, most of the audiences are seated, basking themselves in this joyous sensation. If only they knew that they would be Team Rocket's hostages in about half an hour's time.

Petrel should have already taken control of the network and defense system of the Indigo Stadium by now. Team Rocket's porygon army should be enough to achieve such a feat. Since all the pieces are already in place, then all I have to do now is to wait.

Hopefully, Lance didn't let me down. Even if he did, it's fine.

It's not like I will bear witness to whatever becomes of Indigo after today anyway.

* * *

Today is Indigo's National Day, the day of Indigo's founding. Like always, it is a big event. The Indigo Plateau is flooded with people, spirits running high. Parents held onto the hands of their children. Children held onto the mini national flags in their small hands, waving it enthusiastically in the air as they celebrated their nation's founding. Kantonians and Johtonians alike join together to celebrate their nation's birthday.

A nation built by the merger of two regions to unite under a single banner.

It is such a sight that made Kain believe that everything was worth it. Every single thing that he had to do, legal or not, moral or not, was worth it. The results justify the price. Peace in Indigo would never be achievable if it wasn't for his efforts. Only he can handle such a burden to walk the fine line between good and evil. Only he could do this, to make his dream a reality, to make Indigo an utopia where people need not be afraid of being born different.

It's all for the greater good.

"Mr President."

"Langley." Kain greeted Senator Langley with his classic smile. "Enjoying the celebrations?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Langley replied suavely, dressed in the national colour of dark purple as everybody is. "See you later, Mr President. I'll be taking my seat now."

"You do that. I'll join you when I have finished giving my speech." Kain returned with a smile at the traitor that Operative 2046 had identified for him. Langley is a government official that is secretly working for Team Rocket, among many other high ranking ones that 2046 had dug out for him during his spy work.

The only reason Kain kept these traitorous ministers close was so that he can spy on them at places where he can see them. When the day comes where he can finally smite Team Rocket down for good, they will be gone too.

It's either him or them, and he has no tolerance towards those that threatens the sovereignty of Indigo.

Cheers erupted from the crowd when they saw the Indigo Police Force putting up a splendid performance. The demonstration of Indigo's three main forces had always been the highlight of every single National Day. This year is no different. After all three forces are done with their performance, it will be his turn and give his annual speech as Indigo President, thanking the citizens for making the Indigo dream possible.

Although not everyone's contribution can be recognised, because the work of some can never be brought to light. It is the type of work that is crucial to maintaining the fragile peace but cannot be learnt by anybody else if Indigo is to remain standing.

The unsung heroes.

Many good men and women believing in the same things he did had lost their lives working for him, but it was worth it. They are the unsung heroes of the nation, people who will never be remembered but are no less important. He had done many things that he is not proud of. Controlling minds and speaking lies had never been what he enjoyed doing, but it is _necessary_.

Only he could do it. Only he could see what others could not see, the threats looming across the horizon. Only he can lead Indigo to peace and prosperity. No one else can.

He never did understand why the first Indigo Champion set up the Government-League system of governance. Yes, he understands that checks and balances are necessary. He understands that even the average trainer will know more about pokemon than any brilliant minister that works in his cabinet. Pokemon-related issues should always be handled by trainers. Non-pokemon issues should be handled by the experts in their respective fields.

It sounds good on paper, but it's so inefficient in practice. Lance and him often argued because of their differing views. That _man_-_child _knows _nothing_ about how to run a nation. Because of his foolishness, Indigo had stagnated. It had not improved as much as he liked it to be.

That moron.

He can handle both, so he will handle both. Lance is inept. He's naive, childish. Strong as he may be as a warrior and trainer, Lance is no good in politics. The only reason why he agreed to have Lance as their Indigo Champion after Samuel Oak stepped down is because Lance is easy to fool and pacify.

He, on the other hand, had been involved in politics for over forty years, a veteran in this area. Only he knows what is best for Indigo. He had risen up and led the nation in one of her darkest times and he will continue to do so until a suitable successor can be found.

Since Lance proved to be incapable, he will do Lance's job for him. That is his duty as President of the Indigo Government. To him, Lance's duty is to repel and deter physical threats in and outside their nation, which is no different from an Army General. That's it. The title of Champion is just a fancy title, a glorified seat for a warmonger. The man called Lance who is wearing the crown of the Champion title is just a naive and ignorant _boy _who is too inept at even solving anything pokemon related, always needing him to secretly help him clean up his mess.

No one else can do it, that's why he will do this alone. The only help he has is from those people he personally picked to help him. They are people who have shown that they have both the potential and the capability to do _whatever _it takes.

He's picky in who he chooses to be his helper.

Not only must they have the potential, they must have the loyalty. The logical way is to groom his secret helpers from scratch, preferably from when they are very young. That already means that his project to build his own secret army will be a long term project. If the child's loyalty cannot be secured, then he tampers with their minds with Hypnosis. Hypno used to help him with such an endeavour until it was _killed _when one of his operatives somehow broke free of it and went rogue.

It used to be him, his father, and hypno. Then, it was him and hypno. Now, it's only him.

Hypno is irreplaceable. Still is. Till date, he still hasn't found a psychic pokemon with the same skills and which he can trust without question. That rogue operative almost ruined _everything _for him.

_Professor Samuel Oak's granddaughter. _Of course that man's spawn would be the special one.

Too bad that failure had to be terminated. She found out too much, too soon. If she remained ignorant or remained loyal to his cause, she could easily be one of his most trusted operatives, like 2046.

But at least her death brought about something good for Indigo.

He had picked many other children from various other places in Indigo to help him on his quest in making Indigo great again. 359 of them. Out of so many, only one child was truly special.

A child that was born different from birth. A child loved and protected by the darkness. A child protected and adored even by wild vicious dark types when he was still swaddling in baby clothes, even if the child had no memories about it since his mind is already so scrambled. The only reason why he went to such lengths to get that child, even if it meant risking a political war with another region, was because he believed getting that child into his fold was worth it.

A child naturally loved by dark types. He still couldn't understand pokemon and their eccentricities sometimes.

Back then, just by looking at the nameless child, Kain did not need to be a trainer to know that he would grow into his most dependable helper. He was proven right. Operative 2046 had proven time and time again to be his most invaluable asset in maintaining the peace in Indigo. He's priceless. He had infiltrated the most dangerous, largest, and secretive terrorist organisations in Kanto and worked his way up to be one of Team Rocket's Executive.

Only he could see what others could not, only he could do what others could not. He was proven right every single time.

With 2046 working for him, taking down Team Rocket is no longer a dream. There's no way he is going to inform Lance about this, that buffoon will only blow this up somehow. Yes, morals and principles are important qualities to have as a human being, but when you are dealing with **_that_**, _that _kind of monsters clad in human skin, _that _kind of organisation that don't play fair and will do _anything _to corrupt their beloved motherland, morals and principles will only hold you back.

You cannot play fair with these types of creatures. Dark and dirty is the only way to go.

Yes, he is certain that he will only call upon Lance's help in exterminating Team Rocket when he needs the military might of the Indigo League to uproot them for good. Until then, Lance should just _stay put_, because that Dragon Tamer does not **_understand_**.

To keep away the darkness from the things you want to protect, one must step into the darkness himself. If _no one_ is able to do it, if _no one _wants to do it, then **_he _**will do it.

Because he is Kain Briggs, the President of Indigo. He will do whatever it takes for the sake of the greater good.

According to the emcee, the Rangers' performance is next. Although, they are taking a little long to make their appearance. This obviously is not part of the plan if the emcee's expression is to go by.

And then, the largest screen within the stadium flickered and the display changed.

_"Greetings, citizens of Indigo."_

Kain's eyes widened. He doesn't know who the man that is talking through the screen is, but he does recognise the large red 'R' imprinted on the left side of his shirt over where his heart is.

_Team Rocket._

* * *

**Character and Pokemon List:**

**Name: Jayce**

**Age: 22**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Real identity: Oldest son to Grimsley Dandolos**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1.** **Ninetales, female **

**2.** **Exeggutor, male**

**3.** **Weavile, male**

**4.** **Honchkrow, female**

**5.** **Gengar, female **

**6.** **Houndoom, male **

**7.** **Umbreon, male**

**8.** **Hydreigon, male **

**9.** **Drapion, female **

**10.** **Zoroark, male**

**11.** **Bisharp, male**

**12.** **Shiftry, male**

**13.** **Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**


	22. Chapter 21- Adagio

So, it has begun.

Everything had gone according to plan thus far. Petrel and his men will hack and take over the control room of the Indigo Stadium without anyone the wiser. Just right after the performance from the Police Force during the military procession, they will make use of the hijacked defense system to trap and contain the Indigo forces within the stadium. That way, nobody will come to the audience's rescue when Team Rocket announces their appearance to the world.

And it really has begun, starting from the pre-recorded video of Archer being played on the largest screen within the stadium for the entire world to see live on TV. If things had got to this stage, it meant that Petrel had already taken his leave to enact the next part of the plan, leaving me here as the only Executive at Indigo Plateau.

Good.

"Gengar, ninetales, exeggutor, zoroark. To work."

I felt more than I saw my pokemon leaving my side. It's not like I can see them in action with zoroark's illusion up and active. Even without my instructions, they would know what to do. We had run simulations after simulations just in preparation for this day.

Some things couldn't be done by playing fair. I will weed out the greed, corrupt, and evil within Indigo. This will be my last gift to Indigo.

Bisharp and umbreon stood beside me patiently as we waited for everyone else to be done with their work. Everyone's attention is now being drawn to the screen where Archer is busy exposing Kain for what he truly is to the world, leaving us free to do whatever we need to do.

"Happy National Day! Five hundred years of our founding, built upon lies and oppression! It is an event to celebrate about, isn't it? Happy National Day everyone! Happy National Day!"

Typical Archer-esque humour.

"I am Executive Archer of Team Rocket! And today, on behalf of the organisation, I have come to deliver the perfect birthday gift for our nation! What is the perfect gift, you ask? Why, the truth, of course! Nothing but the undeniable truth! Starting from our very own President, Kain Briggs! Everyone, give him a round of applause please!"

Sadly, the only one clapping is Archer and he's not even here right now. This video was pre-recorded.

"Do you know _how _Indigo prospered? Do you know _how _we earn our money, enjoying the riches that we enjoy today? Do you know who we have to thank for that?_ It's President Briggs! _Mr President, do you want to share with us your secret to success?"

A separate screen that is filming the stadium live on TV changed its focus of attention to Kain. Even the crew of cameramen on duty today had been replaced by Team Rocket. Right now, the cameras within the stadium will only film the things which Team Rocket wants to show to the world.

Kain obviously wasn't pleased. You can tell from the expression on his face. That curled lips, those clenched fists.

He's pissed alright, which makes me very happy.

"No? It's fine, I understand. You are just shy, aren't you? In that case, let me do it for you! Kain Briggs, the man who defied the impossible and became the leader of a nation at twenty-two years of age! The youngest President to be appointed into office in Indigo's history in its most turbulent times! Never losing a single election, the man adored and respected by both regions that made up the Indigo! Now, _how did you do that? _It's impossible!"

Impressive, isn't it? To be a President of a nation as large as Indigo at the age of twenty-two, the same age which I am right now. Granted, it was only possible because Indigo was in turbulent times back then. People always say that heroes are born within troubled times. You can say that Kain was one such example. It cannot be denied that he was the one who led Indigo to where she is today.

You can also argue that without Kain, there wouldn't be an Indigo now. It would have fallen apart about forty years back.

If Kain was such a hero, what really happened from when he became President till now? What changed? That, I don't know. And honestly, I have no interest in finding out more.

Back on screen, Archer's speech continues.

"It's simple. You are an expert manipulator, in more ways than one. Your empire is built upon illusions upon illusions, lies after lies! In fact, Team Rocket would never have existed if it wasn't for what you did two decades ago! Today, we are here to tear down your lies and expose the truth to the whole world, live on TV! Right on the day of our nation's founding!"

Do you know what is most painful? To rip out all the old wounds and scars that you forgot you had. It is both brutal and effective when you are reminded of their existence once again.

This is what we are going to do. This is the plan that I made which convinced Giovanni to decide and mark the start of Team Rocket's revolution today. Hijacking the Indigo Stadium's network and defense system on the day where it will be fully filled, holding the people inside hostages that can be used against the Pillars.

And you might ask, why do we need hostages?

Right at this moment, Team Rocket's forces are marching towards Johto's cities. What is standard protocol for towns and cities when an unknown army comes knocking on their doors? Their Gym Leaders will be called upon to help defend their assigned area. Gym Leaders are people who can be individually considered as one-man armies. Under ordinary circumstances, even Team Rocket wouldn't dare to do something as bold as they are doing right now.

But what if, we have 100,000 hostages?

Everything changes. With Team Rocket taking control of the stadium's defense system, nothing that we want to go in or out could go in or out. This stadium has a seating capacity of 100,000. The majority of the Indigo forces are isolated and trapped in different sections of the stadiums behind those enormous gates and shutters. They won't be able to break free to save the 100,000 hostages.

At least, not without a little help.

"Today, I will tell you the truth behind the founding of Team Rocket, starting from the great economic depression two decades ago! Starting from the extermination of some of the greatest and most loyal minds Kanto has to offer! Many of you here present would have heard of the event, the extermination of SKIP! Separation of Kanto from Indigo through Peace! That was us! That was what Team Rocket was before we were forced to become Team Rocket! Forget everything you thought you know about SKIP! None of that was true, lies spun by our dear Mr President in his last ditch attempt to hold onto his seat of power and we have the evidence to prove it! Today, let me tell you our story!"

Regardless of whether Team Rocket was in the wrong or right, their story is something that the world should know, so that such a thing will never happen ever again.

"Let me start off by telling the world the story of how our President publicly ordered a genocide in Kanto without the world knowing about it, the genocide that gave birth to Team Rocket."

I tuned out Archer's words as I closed my eyes and continued to lean my weight against the wall, standing within the shade where the sun doesn't shine. My pokemon should be done soon. Killing selected members of the cabinet without anyone the wiser isn't too hard for us, even if it meant doing it in broad daylight.

I mean, the Vice President beside Kain had his neck slit and Kain is still unaware of it. It's all thanks to zoroark's illusion which he blanketed across the entire stadium. The entire stadium is still unaware of what had happened to their ministers that I had chosen to take this opportunity to kill of my own volition. These are people who I have indisputable proof that they are nothing but blights to Indigo. Removing them will be in everyone's best interests.

There, my quota of one good deed done per day is completed. Maybe this will help me accumulate some good karma? One can only hope for the best, right?

Somewhere down the line while I was lost in my thoughts, Archer's speech had ended. The crowd is in an uproar but yet nobody dared to move out of their seats.

Mewtwo had teleported into the stadium as per Team Rocket's plan. Anyone who tried to go against Mewtwo were viciously defeated. Even when constrained with the M2 Bind, Mewtwo's power cannot be belittled.

Right now, live on TV, Archer had dared Lance to come out and challenge Mewtwo to a deathmatch with the lives of everyone in the stadium at stake. He will have to accept it. Towards the end of the video, Archer had made it very clear to all Gym Leaders in Johto that if they were to resist, then for every Rocket that they defeated one person among the audiences will be killed by Mewtwo. That means that for Indigo to get themselves out of such a disadvantageous situation, someone that is currently within the stadium has to defeat Mewtwo.

This is Giovanni's wish, to slaughter the Dragon Master in front of the entire world. If the Indigo Champion fell under Mewtwo's might, it would only be good publicity for us. Not only that, it has an added effect of allowing Team Rocket to swiftly take over Johto's major cities should things play out the way we wish for them to. Sure, the Gym Leaders are free to choose to resist and defend their towns and cities, but it will be at the cost of 100,000 lives.

100,000 lives, or the sovereignty of Indigo? Giovanni sure gave them a hard question.

I never informed Lance about this part of the plan because Mewtwo had stated that he is interested in facing Lance in battle. So, I indulged him.

_'I'm, OUT!'_

_'Glad to have you here. I barely recognised who you are with all that metal strapped on you.'_ I replied to Mewtwo as I signalled to Nosy to get on with the next stage of _our _plans. This is where I am going to split ways with Team Rocket.

_'Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a Mewtwo masked in an armour of metal.'_

_'Ho? V for Vendetta this time? Well, go on. I'm interested in seeing where this is going next.'_

_'You need to stick to the script for me to carry on with this marvellous and monumental conversation. And by the way, where is that lizard trainer? What is taking him so long? I look like a fool floating in the middle of the stadium and acting all scary looking.'_

_'If my memories serve me right, the next part of this marvellous and monumental conversation was, Well I can see that.'_

_'Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation, I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked Mewtwo who he is.'_

_'Oh, right.'_

_'But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona-'_

_'It is daytime right now. Your statement is invalid.'_

_'Quiet. Just let me have my moment. So, ahem. Voila! In view humble maestro master, cast magically as both muggins and malefactor by the metamorphosis of fate. This manifestation, no mere membrane of mercy, is a mark of the beliefs of the majority now maculated, melted. However, this magnificent manifestation of a bygone madness stands merry, and has maintained in his ideals to murder these malign and manipulative madmen, magnanimously guarding against malice and manipulating the melodramatic mediocres and magnifying the meaning of the mind.'_

Wait, what?

_'The only maxim is meliorism; a motto, held as a motivation in merriment, for the miracles and metaphysical of such shall one day materialise the merciful and the mighty.'_

Holy- He actually did it.

_'Mindfully, my magnified memorised monologue most mundane, so let me simply add that it's my good honour to meet you and you may call me… Mewtwo.'_

_'You crazy bastard, I don't even care if that made any sense. You actually did it.'_

_'Well, thank you.'_

_'Fess up, how long have you prepared for this moment?'_

_'For me to know and for you to find out. Ah, it seems that the lizard tamer is finally here to meet me in battle. I assume his appearance means that Nosy had informed him on what to do?'_

_'It's up to him to believe us. Nosy should have the shutters and gates that lead to the exits opened soon. With that, people can start to make their escape.'_

_'Oh, I will make the lizard tamer a believer. Don't worry about anything or anyone else, do what you have been wanting to do for ages, Jayce. Go, Nosy and I have things handled. The next time we meet, I will be a free being._'

_'You will, and thank you.'_ I thanked Mewtwo as I felt my pokemon returning to my side at this moment. They must be done with their assigned jobs.

And so, with my worries gone, I made my way towards Kain.

It's time we settled our score.

* * *

Admittedly, this is the first time he actually is glad that the man-child appears before him.

Right in the middle of the stadium, that abomination known as Mewtwo is being held back by Lance, Karen, and an Unova Gym Leader. While he has no idea why a Gym Leader from Unova is here, this is not the right time to question things.

From what he can see, the gates and shutters are slowly opening one after the other. The Indigo forces that were previously trapped elsewhere are starting to flood into the stadium to defeat the Rockets that had taken over this monumental building.

The Indigo forces should have this handled.

"Mr President, for your own safety, I think we should find a safe place to retreat to."

Kain gritted his teeth as he glared at the screen, which is now showing the webpage of a website that Team Rocket had created, SKIPedia. From what Archer had revealed every single file uploaded there are confidential or classified files from the government's databases, with secrets so dark that it is only privy to the eyes of a select few.

Not anymore.

He _will _find out who is behind this. He will send 2046 to investigate the mastermind behind the entire thing after he calms the masses. And speaking of which, why didn't 2046 warn him that such a thing is going to happen today?! Him of all people should have gotten word that such a plan was being hatched!

Or could it be that his identity had been exposed? It couldn't be, right?

Either way, for now, his bodyguard is right. There is a need for him to hide until the storm has passed.

"Let's go."

With one last parting glare at the screen, he walked off with his guards as they led him through a series of passages that is reserved for his sole use. He is sure that everything outside will be a chaotic mess right now. There's no way he can leave like that. In that case, then he will bunker down in the safest place in the entire Indigo.

"We are going to the Indigo Vault. Lead me there."

His guards acknowledged his request before quickly ushering him along the secret passageway that leads them down into the very pits of Indigo Plateau, the forbidden and unknown area that only a select few people in the entire nation would know. They quickly rushed down the endless flight of ancient stairs that were made of stone, making sure that they are going in the correct route because this is a _maze of stairs _they are in. The maze guarding the Indigo Vault was made in an era where war and strife were commonplace. No one knew the reason why the first Indigo Champion made the Vault or how he made it. If anyone other than him knew, that knowledge had also been lost to time.

The Indigo Champion was said to be unrivalled, a being that surpassed mortals. His rhydon could move the earth and shape the region. His venusaur could grow forests in an instant or made land inhabitable for decades through poison. His arcanine could run through volcanoes and torch the fields by simply being there. His alakazam was the epitome of all psychic pokemon. His crobat was said to be able to fly faster than the speed of sound.

In fact, someone from centuries ago once speculated that the first Indigo Champion's rhydon was the one who created the Indigo Vault, which is utterly ridiculous in Kain's opinion. Mythicals and legendaries, he could understand, but no normal pokemon could be that strong.

Ancient murals and carvings on the stone walls by their sides telling a story long forgotten greeted them as they ran down the endless flight of stairs. To think that everything here was done through the work of pokemon is unfathomable. The Indigo Vault is incredibly huge and deep. While it won't take long to reach the end if you know the correct route to take, just running through the stairs could take hours and maybe days if you took a wrong turn and got lost within the maze of stairs.

They quickly travelled through the correct route that brought them out of the other side of the maze in a short time. They are now at the very bottom of the Vault. The sight of a huge pair of doors made of stone greeted their eyes, secretly guarded by an immensely powerful psychic barrier unseen by the naked eye that had lingered even after more than five centuries had passed.

Initially, only pokemon with Champion level power can open it, but with the recent advancement in technology the reliance on pokemon to do this specific job has been eradicated. Kain wasted no time keying in the required access code required to open the doors. No one in the world except for him knew the exact access code.

With a click of a button, the computer whirred as it displayed the 'ACCESS CONFIRMED' on its screen. Dust fell and the underground cavern shook when the large set of doors began to slowly move and open, the psychic barriers flickering away temporarily to allow them entry.

"Alright, in we go."

The familiar voice that suddenly spoke to him was the first clue that something isn't quite right. The sight of his bodyguards suddenly smirking at him and then shimmering into nothing was when Kain realised that something was _wrong_.

The person standing in front of him is none other than 2046 himself. None of his bodyguards can be seen.

Where had they gone to? Was everything just an illusion?

**_How?!_**

* * *

**AN: One of my readers once suggested to me to have Mewtwo recreate V's speech, so here it is, just for you. You guys have no idea how long it took to complete Mewtwo's marvellous monumental monologue.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed the story so far.**

**Character and Pokemon List:**

**Name: Jayce**

**Age: 22**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Real identity: Oldest son to Grimsley Dandolos**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1.** **Ninetales, female **

**2.** **Exeggutor, male**

**3.** **Weavile, male**

**4.** **Honchkrow, female**

**5.** **Gengar, female **

**6.** **Houndoom, male **

**7.** **Umbreon, male**

**8.** **Hydreigon, male **

**9.** **Drapion, female **

**10.** **Zoroark, male**

**11.** **Bisharp, male**

**12.** **Shiftry, male**

**13.** **Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**


	23. Chapter 22- Intermission: Kain Briggs

His very first memory was the rundown shack, that sorry excuse of a building that he once called home. The place where he once lived with his father in a slum. They are Johtonians, yet the very first memories he had were of Kanto where he was raised. They are not rich, his father worked as a miner that mined those precious stones that people covet so much. Kanto had always been full of those shiny things that people love.

Being a miner is a dangerous job. Even with the help of pokemon, things are never safe. The job also doesn't pay well due to a lack of labour laws that guarantee a minimum wage for his father, all because he is a Johtonian working in the Kanto region. His father and his fellow Johtonian miners had always been on the receiving end of exploitation by their Kantonian employers.

His mother left his father the moment he was born because to her, she felt that there isn't any future in following his father. Even he, her son, didn't mean a thing to her. She left without hesitation the moment he was born, that was what his father told him. It was always him, his father, and his father's drowzee. It had always been the three of them. This is his family.

His family's poverty was something that can only be experienced, not described. The thing he recalled most often regarding his childhood was that he only had one meal a day most of the time. Just some plain rice and maybe some vegetables. That was how little his father brought home.

Hunger. Never ending hunger. Those were the most vivid memories of his childhood.

Even then, his father managed to somehow send him to school, saying that receiving education is the only way for him to not follow his path, for him to have a chance to live a better life. He didn't disappoint his father, consistently scoring the best grades in class.

It was then he found out that he is different from others. He could always see and understand what others could not. He skipped grades because he is just that smart. He made his father proud and it made him happy to see him proud of him.

Things started to change when he reached eight years of age. He had skipped grades and was already in middle school. He's the youngest in the class and because of that, often subjected to the ostracisation and bullying from his older peers. Nobody did anything to help him because there wasn't a point in helping him. There's nothing he could do because he's too small and too young.

He's also too poor. He doesn't have any sort of background, influence, or power to protect himself from harm. Eventually, these experiences made him realise that the only way to protect oneself is to have the needed power in his grasp.

Despite the ostracisation and verbal bully he received on a daily basis, he never minded it that much because back then, he didn't care. It was until after he scored full marks on a test that some of the class bullies cornered him in a deserted alley after class.

All because he scored better than them.

It was then his father finally knew that he had been bullied in school all along. The bruises and cuts on his body were too hard to hide. Needless to say, his father was livid. Not only because he had kept mum about the treatment he received in school, but also because the bullies had dared to hit him.

"The world never favours the poor and powerless, Kain. You _have _to fight back if you want to survive." His father reprimanded him when he was helping to dress his wounds using whatever little money they painstakingly saved to buy the needed medication.

"I don't care how you do it. Rob, pillage, steal, exploit, _whatever_. You are smart enough to do what I cannot. Just remember that it's either us or them. Anyone not on our side is an enemy, there's no need to be lenient to them. This is the only way we can protect ourselves because we don't have the power to. We don't have a life of luxury. We don't have anyone else to back us up or hear our voice. That's why we have to do _whatever it takes_ to survive. Remember, it's only us."

"Dad? Isn't that a little too harsh?"

"You _naive **fool!**_" His father smacked him on the back of the head, painfully. "If those assholes nearly broke your arm this time, what about the _next time?!_ If you are not going to do something about it one day I will return home to see you in a body bag! What then?!"

"But surely there is some good in everyone?" Undeterred, he continued to ask. "Like how your language is so foul but you are so nice."

"Don't be stupid. It's only because you are my son." His father scoffed before pulling on his ear to make him squirm in pain. "I'll say this again, it's either _you _or them. I may not be as smart as you, but this is one piece of wisdom that I can impart. For slum rats like us, anyone not on our side is an enemy because nobody will ever care whether we live or die. Get that in your head if you want to survive in this hell."

With that, his father left to prepare dinner. His father's drowzee slowly patted him on the shoulder in a show of comfort.

Is it really either him or them?

At that point in time, he doesn't know.

* * *

Time would prove that his father was right. The bullying and ostracisation only got worse after that day because the bullies faced no repercussions for their actions. The school doesn't take any action. Nobody stood up for him. It's only him against his bullies.

He had been successful in avoiding his bullies thus far but even the most patient man has his limits. It got too much for him to handle. Fear turned into hatred, hatred turned into conviction. He could not stand seeing his bullies. The mere sight of their faces was enough for him to want to erase them from existence.

One day, he finally snapped. If the world could not tolerate his presence simply because he was different, he would reshape the world in his image so that he will have a place to stay.

"Dad."

"Yea?" His father replied while trying to scrub his miner clothes clean.

"Can I borrow drowzee?"

"What do you want him for?"

"I learnt a little about his species in class today. There's something I want to try."

"And what is that?"

"To see if he can help me stop my bullies from harassing me."

It was then he saw it, the proud smile on his father's face.

"Guess you finally decided to heed my words, eh, brat? Fine, take him with you tomorrow. I'll be fine alone."

"Won't it be unsafe for you to do your work without drowzee helping you?"

"I will be _fine_." His father emphasised. "Just take drowzee with you and do what you need to do. Remember, it's-"

"Us or them."

"Atta boy. Now go and sleep. You still have class tomorrow."

* * *

It would be a lie to say that he never once dreamt about becoming a pokemon trainer. Not only will he attain fame and glory should he succeed, it is a good chance to change his family's situation for the better. Being a trainer is a lucrative job and the barriers to entry are low. He will be turning eleven one day, old enough to be a trainer. He just isn't sure if he is suited for it.

Might as well try it out with his father's drowzee first.

His interest in pokemon was sparked when his homeroom teacher talked a little about pokemon and pokemon moves in class the previous day. One of the moves his teacher talked about was Hypnosis, a move he is sure that drowzee could use. He had immediately gone to the library after class that day searching for anything relating to the move, Hypnosis. It was then he learnt more about that move.

Hypnosis is basically a move that uses a unique form of psychic wave to plant a hypnotic suggestion into the target's mind to lull them into a deep sleep. It was then he started to theorise the basis behind how that move even worked in the first place.

What if the hypnotic suggestion implanted is not about making the target fall into a deep sleep? What if the suggestion could be modified to be something else? If that's possible, it would mean that he could possibly control _every single thought and action_ of another person through drowzee.

He got excited simply by thinking about the possibilities this one move could bring. With this, he could make the bullying come to a stop. And so, he asked his father to lend him his drowzee for a day. The only way to check if his suspicions are true is to test it out.

And so, he tried his hand in training pokemon by trying to train drowzee in what he envisioned it could do.

A week later, his bullies all mysteriously jumped down the school building. There were no leads to follow. All evidence led everyone to believe that they did it on their own will. The suicide note left behind was the final nail in the coffin and the police closed the case just like that. They aren't paid enough to deal with this kind of menial affairs, that was how lacksidal Kanto's law enforcement was at that point in time.

When he got home that day, his father only ruffled his head fondly and splurged a little to get him an ice cream, something that he could only eat a few times every year. He shared it with drowzee and his father. A cone of ice cream, shared and eaten by all three of them, family.

Ice cream never felt more delicious.

* * *

"You want to try becoming a trainer?"

"Yes."

It was a decision he came to after much thinking. It's been over two years ever since that day where he and drowzee orchestrated the perfect murder. He doesn't feel a thing about it but he does not like committing the act either. He never used drowzee to hypnotise anyone else after that day because there wasn't a need to.

In these two years, he had given a lot of thought to many things. Despite how Kantonians had treated him and his father, he felt that they were not at fault. If anything, the system is at fault. The entire Indigo system is flawed to begin with. He had once decided that if the world could not tolerate him because he was different, because he is too smart, then he will change the world so that he can be a part of it.

For that, he needs power. The easiest way to do it is to become a trainer. If he can become the strongest, if he can become _Champion_, he can change things for the better. People like his father will no longer be exploited. People like them will no longer need to live in slums and eat only one meal per day. People like him will no longer be ostracised.

Indigo is flawed. Somehow, nobody other than him could see this truth. Not his father, not his classmates, not his neighbours, and not even his teachers, the people who are supposed to educate them about the world. Only he could see what others could not, it had always been this way, because he is born with a brilliant mind that nobody else possesses. His views are always different, his opinions are always different, his ways of doing things are always different and it's human nature for people to not want others to be different from them. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down, he knows this better than anyone else.

In that case, he will create a world where people will not be afraid of sticking out. He will change the world for the better, one step at a time. Only he can do this, because only he saw the Indigo for what it really is. Only he will do this, because only he experienced the dark side of Indigo.

So, he will become a trainer to change things for the better.

Applying to be a trainer wasn't hard. All he had to do after that is to wait until he became of age to be eligible to pick a starter pokemon from the nearest Pokemon Gym to their house.

However, his father had his own opinions when it comes to picking his starter pokemon.

"The pokemon the League offers are _shit_." His father all but spat out. "I had seen people being given rattatas. _Fucking **rattatas**_. No, if my son is about to go out there to explore the world as a trainer he sure as hell aren't going to be travelling with a fucking _ratttata_. I will get you a starter pokemon. A _good _one."

"But getting our own pokemon on our own accord will mean buying our own pokeballs." He quickly stopped his father before he could continue. "And pokeballs aren't cheap. We cannot afford it."

"We _can _afford it." His father said in a stern voice that he knew meant that there is no way his father is going to budge on this matter. "I _will _find a way to afford one and then drowzee and I will find and catch a pokemon that is a hundred, no, a _thousand _times better than a _rattata_."

"Dad-"

"I **_will _**do it, using whatever it takes, because you are my son, because we only have each other left in this fucked up world. It's either us or them, and I won't entrust your safety to a pathetic rattata. This is final."

With that, his father left the house with drowzee, leaving him with strict instructions to not leave the house and to do his homework because his exams are coming soon.

And so, he burned the worn down kerosene lamp because electricity is too expensive, diligently doing his homework while waiting for his father and drowzee to come home. He will make his father proud by being the best there ever is. He will change the world for the better so that he can finally be a part of it. He will create a world that he always dreamt about in his sleep, where people will not be afraid to be different, where people need not hide their talents.

This is the Indigo that he envisioned, the Indigo that he will make a reality. He will do it, using whatever it takes, because only he can see what others could not see and do what others could not do.

He is Kain Briggs, the person who will change Indigo and revolutionise the world.

Using whatever it takes.

* * *

"What happened?"

That was the only thing he managed to get out of his mouth as he stood in the morgue, staring blankly at his father's mangled corpse. His right eyeball is missing, the left side of his face chewed off. He is lacking several fingers on his hands and there are obvious bite marks on his chest.

"Is this man your father?" Ignoring his question, the policeman continued with his own questioning. Kain could only nod, still not believing what had happened.

"Good. Now all I need is for you to sign this document here to confirm that you had identified him to be your father. After that, you are free to go."

He stared listlessly at the document pushed to him, and then back at the police officer.

"What happened."

"He trespassed into a nature reserve and got mauled to death by wild pokemon for his stupid act. There's a damn good reason why the Keep Out sign was placed there for a reason. You are lucky to even get a somewhat complete corpse of your father. It's the nidokings' mating season and they are fucking vicious and protective of their young."

"I see." He held back a sob as his words emerged as a choke. With a swift motion of his hand, he signed his name on the piece of paper. All that he needs to know, he now knows.

"These are what we found on your father. His drowzee's pokeball is in there, and the drowzee had been healed by the nurses." The police officer shoved a small bag into his small arms. He opened up the bag, spotting drowzee's pokeball and another dented and crushed pokeball. Slowly, and hesitantly, he reached out to hold onto the pokeball that his father had no doubt splurge his entire meagre savings on to buy for him.

And then, he broke down, holding onto that dented and unusable pokeball as he cried and mourned for the only person who had loved him in this merciless world.

_"I'll say this again, it's either you or them. I may not be as smart as you, but this is one piece of wisdom that I can impart."_

He left the police station with the scant few belongings of his father. From then onwards, it's only him and drowzee.

It's just them against this merciless world.

From then on, he swore to never become a trainer. From then on, he never trusted another person ever again, because it has always been him or them. Other than drowzee, he never trusted any pokemon ever again, because pokemon took away the one and only person who would ever care and love him.

It's him and drowzee against the world, and it will forever remain this way.

* * *

It took years, but he finally attained the power to start changing Indigo for the better, to build the world that he had always dreamt of. He can never be Champion because he swore to never become a pokemon trainer, but he became something better.

Using whatever it takes, he became President of Indigo at twenty-two years of age, the youngest to be appointed into office in Indigo's history. He had walked a bloody path, but it had led him to greatness nevertheless.

He had become a lot jaded ever since his father's death, but his naive dream had never changed, not even once. He will shape Indigo into a nation where talents can bloom to their full potential and people will not need to experience what he did, simply because they are born different. He will create an utopia for geniuses like him where they do not need to hide their talents.

His father's drowzee is now a hypno, but it is still there standing loyally beside him like always. The only other being that he will ever trust is hypno, because it had been there for him since the very start. Starting from the day where they orchestrated the perfect murder, they are partners. His father is still looking after him through hypno.

"Let's go, hypno, we have much to do."

In the following twenty years, he set out what he had always wanted to do. He wants Indigo to be better, to be stronger, to be the utopia that he had always dreamt about since he was a naive child. He held no illusions that it will be easy, he knows that it will be a long and arduous process that will take decades to accomplish, he knows that he has to play dirty and approve of shady dealings behind closed doors because many things are out of his control for now.

For that very reason, he had realised very early on that for his dream to come true, a few things must be in order.

Firstly, he has to hold onto his seat of power and position as President long enough for him to see his endeavours come into fruition. He has to remain President for as long as it takes, using whatever it takes. He has to take control of everything he could possibly need to take control over. Secondly, Kanto needs a drastic makeover because the conditions are just that bad. Johto is fine as it is, Kanto is not.

However, he also knows very early on that he cannot please everybody. It's just not possible. As such, to make sure that his judgements are never wrong in his quest to create his version of Indigo, he created a self-imposed rule that he will abide by whenever he has to make important decisions as President of Indigo.

Everything that is done, it must be for the greater good. If he abides by this rule, this way, he will always make the right decision.

Twenty years down the road, Kanto had improved. With that, Indigo as a nation had progressed. He is still not satisfied enough with the results, but it is already a lot better than what he had experienced as a child.

Improving Kanto into what it is today wasn't easy. Since Kanto had always needed money and money doesn't come from nowhere, what he did was to allow Johto to use Kanto's resources for their own needs, and then direct a large part of Johto's fruits of labour back into Kanto in order to fund their improvement.

The way he improved Kanto is one that people will not agree to due to some inevitable exploitation but it is the best way, even the end results said so. Within twenty years Kanto had swiftly grown into a region known for birthing the smartest people and the most brilliant minds. Kanto is now a place where people who dabbled in science will flock to, where people who are different from others, geniuses in every sense of the word, will gather and share their ideas. They have no need to fear that they are different because everybody around them is different. They have no need to fear that nobody could understand the way they see things because this is where intellectuals gather. They have the needed brain cells to comprehend what they each envision.

Little by little, his dream is slowly becoming a reality. It would not have been possible if he hadn't lived by his father's words, that it's either him or them. It was how he secretly got rid of all his political opponents and slowly consolidated his own political power. His hypno was also instrumental in helping him in creating their dream world. People might not agree with his methods should they learn of it, but he is firm in his beliefs that his decisions are the right ones, because he had always done everything with the greater good in mind.

It's all for the greater good.

* * *

Over the years, he slowly had more contact with the darkness of Indigo, something which he can never allow to let fester. As the President of Indigo, he has to make sure that people with dangerous ideologies that threaten the sovereignty of Indigo cannot be allowed to live.

For the greater good, to keep Indigo's darkness at bay, this is a necessary evil.

For that goal, over the years as the President of Indigo, he had secretly done and approved of many dirty deeds that he is not proud to admit. People may say that such an arrangement is immoral, but when one sits on his seat and is tasked with the duty to protect Indigo and her people, you would find that you will have to make many hard decisions behind closed doors in order to keep Indigo standing.

After a while, you will find that there are no such things as the right decisions, only the best decisions.

Behind its glamour and the fact of being the first true nation to ever be united and came into existence in history, Indigo is a nation riddled with problems. The disparity in which the natural resources are distributed across the two regions is a glaringly huge problem and this leads to a poverty gap between Johto and Kanto, something which his predecessors had all never managed to solve during their time. Now, this problem is passed on to him to handle.

This rich-poor divide that lasted for five hundred years left a mark on Indigo that will never truly go away. Johto has the ideal environment and resources to flourish. Good weather conditions, large amount of arable land suitable for agricultural purposes that can be found almost everywhere, the ease in building the necessary infrastructure to facilitate ease of transport between cities and towns due to the generally flat land, thereby making it easier to conduct business and trades and stimulating Johto's economy. Naturally clear segregation of wild pokemon habitats and human settlements which made it easier to plan and divide the use of land for specific purposes.

Basically, whatever Johto needs to build an empire, _an utopia_, it has them. Johto is a region that is blessed with everything. Johto never had a problem in being self-sufficient and only once a region can be self-sufficient can its people then have the spare energy to think of how to further improve their lives and be even better.

Over the span of five hundred years, there are a lot of things which Johtonians have done to improve their standard of living and quality of life. Johto always had the better things, be it education, healthcare, and other necessities. Just Johto's literacy rate alone is at 99.6%, the highest among all the seven regions, because the accumulated wealth and wise management of resources over five hundred years enabled it to do so. Because of this, many politicians in modern history are often Johtonians because from a young age, they have greater access to what they need in order to go further in life. You can say that the ruling body of Johto's pioneers had created a benign cycle that keeps feeding upon itself that benefits Johtonians. When you look at things in this manner, Johto flourishing into what it is today isn't surprising.

Keeping that in mind, the stark differences you can observe when comparing Kanto to Johto is as clear as day is to night.

If you look at the overall landmass, Kanto is bigger than Johto. However, half of Kanto's lands are mountainous areas that cannot be used or lived on. The north of Kanto is built on mountainous areas because there isn't much of a choice. There is nowhere else to live. The reason why settlements like Pewter City, Cerulean City, and Lavender Town even exist is because those are the only places left in Kanto that were not occupied when ancient civilisations began to sprout and grow in the Kanto region.

The south of Kanto is the area which is more ideal to conduct economic activities because of the flatter and more arable land which allows agriculture and trade to take place but even then, there are too many forests in between these plots of land. Clearing these forests is also not an option because once you overdo it and deprive wild pokemon of their homes, they will naturally vent their rage on the nearest human settlement. Unlike Johto, the segregation between wild pokemon habitats and human settlements in Kanto had also never been that clear because both pokemon and humans are forced to live alongside each other very closely, mostly due to a lack of space thanks to the constant presence of the largely inhabitable mountainous areas. If this delicate balance is disrupted, it will be detrimental to Kanto as a whole.

As such, Kanto is not an ideal place to build a nation given its natural conditions. In fact, it is a plot of land that any smart ruler would never want to build their civilisation on. That isn't to say Kanto is a region that is extremely unlivable, but trying to properly manage the region is obviously a lot harder than Johto. The conditions are just that unfavourable.

Over the centuries of economic disparity, Johto had grown to be too rich and too influential ever since the merger of both regions into Indigo. This indirectly affected Indigo's political scene. By the time he became President at least 70% of the politicians that helped him govern Indigo were Johtonians.

Due to this, there are no checks in place or rather, the sheer impossibility of putting any sort of checks on Johtonian politicians because everytime something of that nature was brought up it would be quickly shut down through a majority vote.

Many people view democracy as a measure that promotes equality and fairness but very often, democracy does not always lead to the best outcome, not when the vast politicians in the Indigo Government are using the system as a tool to further their own gains. Democracy is simply a tool to give the ignorant masses the illusion of equality and fairness, that is democracy in a nutshell. Reality is often sadder than it seems. The masses are often ignorant of what the real threat is. They tend to let their irrational emotions cloud their judgement when making their decisions in casting their votes instead of listening to their logical reasoning. It is what allowed the toxic culture plaguing the Indigo Government and Kanto to prosper even further.

Hence, it came as no surprise that Kantonians and Johtonians are not equally represented in the political scene. The number of Johto politicians in the cabinet far outweighs those from Kanto. This is where the crux of the Kanto-Johto problem truly started.

Looking at that, it's not hard to see what such an arrangement will eventually lead to.

_Corruption_

He doesn't know who he can trust to help him in governing Indigo within this corrupted pit of vipers, because it's hard to pinpoint who has been corrupted and who is not. It's _always _like this, he _always _lacked _information_. Politics is a game of chess without rules. Backstabbing is commonplace. Information is worth their weight in gold. You can rise as easily as you can fall.

To him, the urgent problem that needs to be solved isn't about how politicians get elected into their seats of power in Indigo. In his opinion, the most urgent and tricky business to deal with are the few powerful elites back then who were high up in places where even he as the President cannot carelessly touch for every single action he took, no matter how minor, can bring about drastic circumstances.

And if he were to be ousted out of office through some shady back dealings because he went against what these powerful elites wanted, there would really be no one else to solve the poverty problem for Kanto. He is the only one left who is willing to do the right thing as Indigo President to save Kantonians from the unseen danger.

He has to do this. Only he can do this and he can only trust himself to do this right. There is nobody else left in which he can fully trust.

The strong will always prey on the weak. Even as President, he is not immune to this law of the jungle. If he wants to truly complete what he had in mind for Indigo, to bridge the gap between Kanto and Johto, to help Kanto stand up on her own and be self-sufficient without relying on their mineral deposits, then he cannot be brought down from his seat of power as President until he finished what he set out to do.

It's like his father said, it's either him or them. In this backstabbing hellhole that is politics, even more so.

For his dream to be able to become a reality, he needs to be able to have everything under his control. To do that, he needs accurate information on everything that he needs to know to make his decisions. That was what spurred him to start on Project Illusion in the first place. SKIP's existence had only cemented his beliefs because it was almost too late when he caught wind of the existence of such an entity.

That was the _final _straw. His dream for Indigo, an utopia where people need not fear to be different from each other cannot become a reality if the two regions separated from each other. Indigo will never be Indigo if that ever happened. All of his hard work, everything that he had been working for the realisation of his dream had nearly shattered. The sovereignty of Indigo had been threatened in the most fatal way because _he lacked information._

If he has to do the right thing using whatever it takes, even if it means doing it all by himself, then _so be it._

In order to do what is right, he had to do whatever it takes to bring these people down that are corrupting not just Kanto's politics and financial system, but Indigo as well. Indigo cannot be allowed to rot from within any further. To remove this blight that is infecting his beloved country, he had decided that he needs an army in which he can fully trust to do his bidding and complete every single task without fail.

He will create his own information network which answers to him and only him. He has to be very careful on who he trusts to be his aide. He has to be very careful on who he uses to work for him. The only person who he can ever fully trust will be himself.

Thus, Project Illusion was started. Over the years, many people who once held onto great positions of power with the sole intention of exploiting the helpless lower and middle class had mysteriously got themselves replaced with people he doesn't necessarily trust, but knows are morally inclined enough to not do certain things. Project Illusion made that possible, even if this project could not really be counted as a success due to the fact that only one operative is left now. The rest of them had all perished in this line of work over the years while fulfilling his orders.

Project Illusion is both a success and a failure. 359 children were trained in total. Now, only one is left and has survived to adulthood. That operative is Operative 2046, the perfect operative who he knows he can trust without question and is able to complete each and every of his missions spectacularly.

When he first laid eyes on his perfect operative he was only a child. An _infant_. When he first saw the child in Pallet Town many years ago he knew immediately that like him, that child was _special_.

Under other circumstances there's no way he will be there at Pallet Town. He's the President of Indigo. There are better things for him to do then to pay a visit to one of the most rural areas of Kanto, Pallet Town. However, that period of time was when he was focusing all of his efforts in hunting down the remnants of SKIP, _personally_. That operation alone brought him to many places that he usually wouldn't visit due to time constraints.

It was then he saw the newborn child in the arms of his mother who was walking down the street. He saw how dark type pokemon, wild or in captivity, were curiously observing the mother-son pair from afar as the woman walked past them. He is not a trainer but he doesn't need to be one to know that this is clearly unnatural.

Like how he was different, that child is also different. That child could be everything that he once dreamed of, a powerful pokemon trainer that can change the world. His political power is already growing stronger day by day. If he has a powerful trainer on his side who will do his every bidding and adhere to his every wish, one strong enough to be Champion, then there will be nobody to oppose his rule and decisions. He can finally have free reign to recreate Indigo in his image, to build an utopia.

And so, he made his decision. He first needs to find out who this child really is.

Unnatural things must be investigated, any uncertain elements must either be in his control or eliminated, that is how he usually does things. It was how he even managed to find out about SKIP's existence in the first place. And so, he secretly ordered his closest subordinates to observe the mother-son pair and report to him what they found out.

He had his answer within the day. The woman is a Kantonian. That child is her son. From the reports, it was confirmed that the person which the dark types were attracted to was the baby, not the adult.

At that moment, he knew that he _had _to get the child on his side at all costs, because a human having such a strong affinity with pokemon is an extremely rare occurrence. Coincidentally, that period of time was also when he was already planning to build his own secret army of spies to do his bidding, to be his eyes and ears and help him know what is going on throughout the entire region. He initially had his doubts on creating such a secret and forbidden unit but SKIP's existence had solidified his belief that the Indigo's existing unit of spies and secret operatives wouldn't be enough. Not only are they incompetent, they are morally bound by the oath set since the time of the First Indigo Champion to not do certain things, things that are not glamorous but _necessary_.

To prevent another dangerous organisation like SKIP from springing up again in the future, he needs to take preventive measures. He needs to know relevant information in the shortest time possible. He needs his own secret army which he can trust to follow his will and do his bidding. SKIP had made him absolutely sure that this is _necessary_.

It's all for the greater good.

He knows what kind of backlash will occur should people find out what he is doing. Thus, this secret army of spies absolutely cannot be known to anyone else other than those who he can trust. As far as trust could go, in any case. These spies must be absolutely loyal to him and only him, because he cannot trust anyone else to be let in on what he is planning to do and ruin his political career.

There are a few ways to instill absolute loyalty in his spy army. It was where his hypno's skill with Hypnosis came in. To mold his army to only do his bidding, he is certain that this sense of loyalty must be instilled into his operatives since young, which means that he would have to train and use children.

This arrangement is a high risk, high reward endeavour that will not produce any results until the long term. He knows this better than anyone else. It's hard to tell whether the children he ordered his closest subordinates to abduct for him will be suited for this life because some people are naturally born to be more talented in doing certain things and it may not be spy work. He knows that many of the selected children would probably not live till adulthood because of the danger he will be subjecting them to, but it is something that he is still willing to see through.

For the greater good of Indigo, it will have to be done.

And it was at that time he came across another curious piece of information, that the newborn child that caught his interest that day is the son of Grimsley. Grimsley's wife is a Kantonian and was from Pallet Town, which explains their presence in Pallet that day.

It was then everything made sense to him.

_Of course_, the children of accomplished parents are more likely to go further in life. He had seen it with his own eyes when he was living in the slums of his father. A child of a homeless man will most likely also become another homeless man. A child born from successful parents will most likely become successful later on in life. It's in their blood, in the pedigree, carved into their genes. This world is unfair to begin with. Certain people are simply born to be more blessed than others, born with gifts that many others could only hope but never acquire.

Knowing that the special child is a child of an Elite Four from a foreign nation makes him realise that the best method to possibly pick out the most talented children to make up his secret army would be through looking at their pedigree. Children of accomplished people in their respective fields, especially those of trainers, would be optimal because these children are those with higher chances of surviving whatever he will be subjecting them to.

He will have to readjust his plans a little, especially in how they select the children which they will be abducting to kickstart Project Illusion. It's all for the greater good, for the sake of making Indigo an utopia.

Thus, Project Illusion took a new direction. Young children belonging to selected accomplished trainers were abducted from their homes. Any and all memories they had prior to the abduction were either altered or wiped out by his hypno. Abducting some of these children can prove to be tricky due to who their parents might be, but his operatives still succeeded in doing so without leaving a single trace behind. In total, three hundred and fifty nine children were assembled over the years within the age range from a week old to three years old. Old enough to start shaping them to his liking but not old enough to remember who they were before they became a part of Project Illusion.

And even if they did remember, his hypno will see to it that they will never recall a thing about who they were. It is a necessary evil.

It's all for the greater good.

He left the children's education to a trusted operative who shares the same view as him in protecting Indigo. All in all, only twenty operatives were let in on Project Illusion when it first started. Five perished in the line of duty while amassing his new army. Three were terminated by his hypno when they had second doubts and wanted to whistleblow. The remaining thirteen worked for him until they all eventually sacrificed their lives in protecting Indigo, but not before grooming those children to be mission ready and ready to only listen to his orders.

It was then he had his perfect information network, his spy army, even if they were only children. Project Illusion was initially a success because it bore results that he never thought possible. With his 359 spies, he was able to make better and more informed decisions. He was able to tell apart traitors from allies and it helped him in his endeavour to root out the corruption from Indigo. Everything was going fine, until a new threat suddenly sprang up from literally nowhere.

Team Rocket.

It was then everything started to go downhill again. Team Rocket's growth was too aggressive and they were too good at staying hidden. No matter who he sent to infiltrate the terrorist group to bring it down from within, it never succeeded. His spies always got found out over time.

Team Rocket is simply too good at what they do. They are too dangerous to let be. They must be stopped, using whatever it takes.

He had thought that all was lost when his spies rapidly perished in the line of duty one after the other, until he had his perfect operative.

Operative 2046, codename Gengar, is the very epitome of what he expects from his own personal spy. With him around, bringing Team Rocket down is no longer a pipedream. It can be done. All they need is time.

He had always known that this child was special. He was proven right once again, that he could see what others could not. He had recognised from when this child was an infant that he was special, time had proven once again that he was right.

Only he could see what others could not, only he could do what others could not. That is him, Kain Briggs.

Over time, he will see to it that Team Rocket will go down. Any abnormalities that could possibly threaten the sovereignty of the Indigo and his dream of an utopia, no matter how big or small, must be exterminated with extreme prejudice. That is his duty as the President of Indigo. He will not risk anything when it comes to this issue, no matter how small that risk may be because the biggest of infernos always started out as a small ember.

To do the right thing using whatever it takes, that is his duty as Indigo President. This is the only way he knows to protect his beloved country and his dream. Only he can trust himself to do what is right because there is nobody else in which he can trust to do the right thing.

He is Kain Briggs, the President of Indigo. He will protect Indigo using whatever it takes. His decisions may not always be the right ones, but it will always be the best ones.

_Everything_, _anything_, as long as it is for the greater good, it will be done.

For the greater good, it will be done.

* * *

**Character and Pokemon List:**

**Name: Jayce**

**Age: 22**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Real identity: Oldest son to Grimsley Dandolos**

**Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar**

**Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent**

**Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague**

**Team Rocket Rank: Executive**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1.** **Ninetales, female **

**2.** **Exeggutor, male**

**3.** **Weavile, male**

**4.** **Honchkrow, female**

**5.** **Gengar, female **

**6.** **Houndoom, male **

**7.** **Umbreon, male**

**8.** **Hydreigon, male **

**9.** **Drapion, female **

**10.** **Zoroark, male**

**11.** **Bisharp, male**

**12.** **Shiftry, male**

**13.** **Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**


	24. Chapter 23-Intermission:My Name is Jayce

"2046." Kain spoke in a low tone. "What-"

A punch met his face and Kain landed harshly on the floor.

"Had been wanting to do this for a _looooong _time now. Man, did that felt _good_."

Kain coughed and spat out the blood before raising his head, still trying to pick himself up from the floor. He is getting on in his years. His body is starting to give him problems that come from old age. He can do nothing as 2046 dragged him by the back of his shirt and entered the vault with him.

_How? Why? What is going on?!_

A foot slammed his head back down into the ground.

"Think you can Hypnosis me forever? _Think again_."

"You-!"

Kain shook with visible fear, anger, and shock at that statement. There's _no way_ 2046 should have known about that. How did he-

He heard a pained yell from somewhere. It was only when he found his mouth open and throat screaming did he realise that the person yelling is _himself_.

The sound of jaws crunching could be heard as Kain saw a gengar slowly chewing on a bloodied hand.

_His hand. _

He doesn't know how long he had been screaming in pain, but he did stop screaming after an undetermined period of time. 2046 chose to continue speaking after seeing that he had calmed down.

"Eh, ignore gengar. She's a little hungry and when she's hungry, she tends to rip people's hands out to snack on. Habit from work, you see. It resurfaces from time to time."

"2046. Do you **_know-_**"

"Oh, trust me. I _know _very well what I'm doing." 2046 replied coolly as he placed a portable tablet in front of him, showing the televised National Day celebration, live on TV. A massive houndoom pressed him down onto the ground, snarling angrily as its searing breath can be felt brushing dangerously across his face.

From his position where he was forced to see the tablet's screen, Kain can see how the Indigo Stadium had turned into a literal battlefield. The Indigo forces are trying to stop things from spiralling out of control with Lance leading the Indigo forces. Rockets had started to appear from out of nowhere and there's nothing to be seen other than chaos and more chaos.

His dream, his utopia. All of his hard work is going to come undone if _something _is not going to be done about it.

"W-What are you planning to do?" Kain asked, not liking where this is going as he continues to bleed from where his hand had been ripped out from his arm.

"Let's see…" 2046 stroked his chin in thought without seemingly a care in the world. "You can say this is for revenge, you can say this is for you to be remembered as the largest stain of Indigo in their history books. You can say this is for everything and at the same time, nothing at all."

There is a beep from 2046's phone and 2046 checked his phone. He let out a sadistic grin that gave Kain the shivers and briefly showed him what is on it. It's that blasted website. A website that Team Rocket set up for the sole purpose of airing every single unlawful act he had done and authorised for the greater good of Indigo.

"Remember what Archer said on screen earlier? Everything that you have done, we will make sure that the world will not only get to know about it, but also _remember _it. I got to say, Giovanni's little porygon army works _fast_. Just a minute after I've given the order and already the message has been sent out to the _entire _world about the existence of this website. _Everything _is now _everywhere _for _everyone _to see. Congrats! Now the _whole world_ knows how much you had done for Indigo! Look at you, the star of the concert!"

Shaking with rage, Kain whipped his head to where 2046 is at, who is scrolling through his phone as he nodded his head to an inaudible rhythm that only he can hear and not even looking in his direction.

"Oh, that's right, I've been wanting to ask you this. You really had a hand in abducting _Professor Oak_'s granddaughter? She was my partner, you know. You remember her, right? Her name is Jane. But… _the _Professor Oak? I know you and him don't get along at all when the professor was the Champion, but… _damn_. What did he ever do to you? Giovanni didn't tell me much about your conflict with Oak."

"_Giovanni_?" Kain asked through his teeth, a mixture of rage, fear, and hopelessness swirling in his mind.

"Yeah, the leader of Team Rocket. Did I not tell you about this?" 2046 gave him a look of confusion before a look of faux realisation appeared on his face. "Oh, I must have forgotten all about it! Silly me! I've been so forgetful lately! Right, ninetales?"

As if mocking him, the fox pokemon gave a lazy yawn.

"All of my hard work." Kain spoke in a shaky and angry voice. "All of my efforts in maintaining the peace in Indigo. **_You destroyed it._**"

"Just as how you destroyed our lives, all 359 of us. This is for them. For us." 2046 said with a sadistic smirk on his face, a dagger twirling lazily in his hand. "Just as how you destroyed SKIP through the fabrication of your web of lies, just as how you destroyed all 359 lives of Project Illusion, I will destroy you with my own methods, using whatever it takes."

Kain spit at his rogue operative.

"Because of you, Indigo will fall into chaos. Because you sided with the **_Rockets_**."

"Uh, uh." 2046 waved a playful finger at him. "That's where you are wrong again. You always think you are right, think about how you are wrong for once. I don't side with the Rockets and I'm certainly _not _siding with _you_. The only person that I would ever stand beside is Jane and _you _took her _away _from _me_."

A sudden seizure of pain assaulted Kain's body, making him scream in pain.

"That was Curse. Gengar is really having her fun with you right now, slowly finding out how good your pain tolerance is. So far, none who had experienced this VIP treatment of hers lasted for more than five minutes. Do us a favour and don't kick the bucket too soon, okay? Pokemon moves **_really _**aren't supposed to be used on humans like that, so I really do not know what will happen to you. I mean, _I would know_. Experiencing Dream Eater to stop my own nightmares was a really enlightening experience."

"DON'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING?!" Kain could no longer keep his cool as he screamed his words. "YOU ARE _DESTROYING _INDIGO! YOU ARE _DESTROYING _THE _WORLD!_ IF INDIGO FALLS, THE PWL IS RUINED! WITHOUT INDIGO, THE WHOLE WORLD WILL DESCEND INTO THE DARKNESS!"

"You took away **_my _**world." 2046 spoke, his voice dangerously sharp and cold as the houndoom pressed its body weight further on Kain's back.

"I had always thought that it was weird how Jane was found out. She's always been too gentle for this whole spy gig, but she was good at her job. She found out some of your dirty secrets that she is not supposed to know, am I right? I don't know what Jane found out about you that you had to eliminate her by ratting her out to the Rockets. I don't even know how you did it without _me _knowing, but I don't really care right now. All I care about is to **_make you suffer_** like you made us suffer. Like I said, this is all for Jane, but it is also for all 359 of us."

"That **_failure_**." Kain spat. "You want to know so much? _Fine_. Let's **_talk_**."

"Then _speak_."

"She was the first one to find out about the Hypnosis and successfully broke free from it. She tried to do the same for you but my hypno found out in time, so I sent someone to terminate her. Do you want to know _who?_ Don't you want to take _revenge _on the person who directly caused her death?"

Kain sent an angry 2046 his most vengeful glare.

"That someone was _you_."

There was an obvious break in composure in 2046. He didn't outwardly react, but there's no mistaking the tightening of his grip on the dagger and the slight trembling of his body.

"You're lying."

"I'm not. Why else would every single Team Rocket member believe her when she said **_you _**ratted her out? _Because it is true_. **_Everyone _**was there to see it. **_Everyone _**remembered it but _you_."

Kain let out a vindictive laugh. _He lost_. He had lost everything. He had always been in control, he had always foreseen everything and the one thing that he had been absolutely sure that he always had in control had slipped out of his grasp without him knowing. It's a mistake that had created his downfall, and subsequently Indigo's downfall.

There's nothing he can do now, he recognised this fact. That doesn't mean that 2046 will have the last laugh.

"Oh, _she tried_." Kain continued to speak in a mocking tone. "She tried to erase my control over you the moment she found out about my Hypnosis trick but **_I_** was faster. I had two failsafes that I put into every single of my operatives' mind when my hypno cast the Hypnosis, you see. The first one is a Future Sight that fries my operatives' brain if they were ever captured by their enemies who want to get information out of their minds, and has a secondary effect of helping to guarantee my operatives' loyalty to me. The second one is an implanted hypnotic suggestion that allows me to have total control over my operatives' every action through hypno, whenever I want to and no matter where I may be. Better yet, if I so wish to, the afflicted target will have no memories of them being controlled the entire time. There's no way to fight back against this particular failsafe once it is triggered, hypno and I made sure of it."

Kain started to laugh softly.

"I got lucky on that end. When Hypno detected that something was wrong with you I was lucky to reach you fast enough to stop her from freeing you. She was **_so close_** from totally freeing you from the second failsafe. You really were the best operative I have, 2046. The moment I reached there and commanded you to dispose of 2043 immediately, to erase her without any trace of foul play and maintain your cover at all costs, your mindless perfect operative self decided that the best way to do so was to _rat her out_ _in front of everyone_ in Team Rocket, using Team Rocket to help us eliminate the threat."

There was a sharp stab of pain in his shoulder as 2046's dagger found its place there.

_"You're**… lying."**_

Despite the horrid pain, Kain cannot help but smirk at 2046's trembling form.

"Am I? Why not ask your gengar? It is the haunter that belonged to that failure, right? That failure is such a forgiving fool, even going so far as to command the haunter to erase your memories of you ratting her out before you let her get herself caught red-handed by the Rockets. Of course, I'm sure you remember **_nothing_**. 2043 may be a failure, but she's also good at her job, I will give her that."

"Don't you even **_dare _**speak of her-"

"Since my Hypnosis had already come undone, do you even understand **_how _**you broke out of it so easily?" Kain questioned with a sneer. "Do you naively think that I wouldn't have had contingencies for situations like this? If you broke out of the Hypnosis it means that you realise that you only encountered **_one _**failsafe. There were supposed to be **_two _**failsafes and both can be reapplied over and over again, so why did I not reapply it on you? Aren't you _curious?_"

Taking satisfaction in seeing 2046's furious look, Kain continued.

"The reason why I did not reapply the second failsafe on you was because _I can't_. 2043 made sure of it. My hypno was _killed _by her. The only pokemon I ever trusted and was skilled enough to perform such a high level of Hypnosis, 2043 killed it before you used the Rockets to terminate her. She commanded her pokemon to kill my hypno so that its Hypnosis can _never _be planted in anyone again. I'm _sure _that to protect your already fragile mind when she forcefully removed that second failsafe from you, in a last desperate attempt to save the only person she ever cared about, she made absolutely _sure _that you remember **_nothing _**of **_how_** **_you truly betrayed her_** so that you wouldn't go insane from the mental backlash**_. _**I would know, I was there to hear it when she kept commanding haunter over and over again to make sure that you remember nothing about this by muddling your memories with Nightmare and Dream Eater, so that you wouldn't realise anything about the Hypnosis I put in your mind. Do you want to know _why _she did that? _Do you?_"

2046's only reply was a glaring look that would freeze the world if it could.

"The answer is stupidly simple. It's always because of _you_. You matter too much to her. She doesn't want you to realise about the Hypnosis and the failsafes back then because your mind was _already damaged_. You have to admit that you were a lot more reckless in your youth, and you would have done whatever it took to remove those failsafes even if the chances of failure were high and would mean certain death. That failure knew you inside and out, that this is _exactly _what you would do should you learn of the Hypnosis. It would be too dangerous to do another failsafe removal until your mind had completely healed from the damage she was forced to inflict on you to free you from my second failsafe. That alone is a recovery period that could take anywhere from a few years to a decade to achieve full recovery."

Kain laughed. He began to laugh and laugh even if he doesn't know why he is laughing.

"I'm sure that the moment her gengar realised that your mind had healed enough to withstand the full removal of the remaining failsafe, that ghost planted subtle suggestions in your nightmares for you to realise that _something is wrong with your mind_. Because _how else_ are you free from my control right now? Nothing other than your very mind is stopping you from freeing yourself because my hypno is gone and I had no suitable pokemon to replace it. All along, I had thought that you never recovered because you put up such a convincing act all these years, until now. You know what? I could still remember that day when you were restraining her after she somehow killed my hypno. She didn't even put up a fight against you _because she loved you._"

"No." 2046 gritted out. "You're lying. _You're lying!_"

"You should see yourself." Kain whispered with vengeance. "You were the _perfect _operative when I activated the second failsafe in you. Emotionless, cold, merciless, efficient. _The perfect tool._ You surpassed every and all expectations. Your performance was so satisfactory that if I had my way you would never have free will ever again and will always be under my total control, _forever_. You want to know what really happened that day? _You_ personally restrained her before the both of you disappeared into the Rockets' Fuschia hideout to carry out your new mission I had given you: to dispose of 2043 while maintaining your cover."

Kain could feel a wide grin forming on his face.

"She could have fought back, could have run and never returned, be free from my control forever, but she never did that. Instead, she stayed to try and free you from my control while you forcefully restrained her and brought her back to Team Rocket, and throughout the entire time she was _still _trying her best to free you. Of course, she could have broken free and run, but she didn't want to leave you behind doing who knows what under my total control and she didn't want to hurt you. Foolish girl. I supposed she wanted to at least try breaking you out of the second failsafe before you brought her to Fuschia, so that you would never be under my total control again, but she was still too slow. You still managed to rat on her to the Rockets _before_ she finally broke you out of my control. As for what happened after you reached the Fuschia hideout, _this_, you do remember, am I right?"

Kain watched as 2046 visibly held in his anger and slowly turned his head to face the gengar, who was averting its gaze away from 2046.

"Gengar." 2046 rasped.

The ghost did not dare look at 2046 in the eye.

"Is it true?"

Silence permeated the air.

**_"IS IT TRUE?!"_**

After a long period of silence, the ghost finally gave a silent nod. 2046's breathing became heavier as he visibly struggled to not heave for air.

"But 2043 is still a decent operative." Kain continued without a care in the world now that he had nothing to lose.

Everything had gone up in flames. His efforts, his dreams. The peace he is trying to uphold. Nothing is left right now as they are starting to crumble right before his very eyes. The National Day celebration is still being broadcasted live on TV and already he can see that there is mass chaos breaking out on the Indigo Plateau right now. All his ministers that were sitting in their seats earlier who were supposed to be alive, had all been slain in the most bloodied and morbid ways without anyone knowing. _Somehow_.

Must be the work of that zoroark standing right beside 2046. Maybe the Langley that he was talking to earlier is also another illusion and that the real Langley was long dead like the rest of his ministers. He should have terminated 2046 sooner, he shouldn't have trusted that hypno's Hypnosis would continue to work properly after its death.

It's always either him or them. He should have done something to avoid this fatal mistake.

"At least after her death, _you _were born. The Rocket's Exterminator. The perfect operative of Indigo. Her death was necessary to push you further and to better serve Indigo. Look at what you accomplished after her death. _Look at you_."

There was a violent twist of the dagger that was stabbed in his shoulder. Kain let out another pained cry.

"It doesn't matter."

Kain struggled to look up after hearing what 2046 had to say.

"It doesn't matter who had killed her. She's already dead and I'm already dying. I will ask for her forgiveness and grovel by her feet when I see her, **_if _**I see her. But **_you_**."

The dagger stabbed deeper into Kain's shoulder and he screamed.

"You are not even **_fit _**to be in her presence." 2046 looked on with cold fury. "Do you know why I brought you here of all places?"

2046 pointed towards two huge stone statues in the middle of the empty Vault. One of them is a human male, the other female. Both statues looked worn, having existed since the founding of Indigo. Just by looking at the statue, it's difficult to try and even make out how the First Champion really looked like.

"I don't know who that female statue is supposed to be, the nameplate is too damaged to make anything out of it, but that **_other _**statue, is the statue of the first Indigo Champion, Ishikawa Katsuo. The man who founded Indigo."

2046 ruthlessly dragged Kain across the floor, leaving behind an easily visible trail of blood leaking from the stump of his arm. A rusty and dented pokeball fell out from the pockets of Kain's coat, the reminder of who he was and why he became who he is today. Instinctively, he reached out his other working hand to try and grab the pokeball, the only thing he had to remind himself of the only person who had loved him and who he could trust with all his heart, only to fail in that attempt when 2046 threw him right before the feet of the statue of the Indigo Champion.

Even then, he still struggled to reach for that rusty and dented pokeball with his only remaining hand, the pokeball that his father had used up almost all his money to buy for him and had given up his life in doing so. The pokeball that kept reminding him why he is doing this throughout the past six decades of his life.

For his beliefs, for the greater good.

"Where do you think you are looking at?"

A harsh stomp of 2046's boot on his fingers made him cry out in pain. His fingers are now broken and he was forced to tear his gaze away from the only memento he had of his father when 2046 violently spun him around to face the statue of Indigo's First Champion, the person who had built and founded their nations with his own two hands.

"I will ask for forgiveness from Jane and even if she never forgives me, I will never stop loving her. I will still willingly place my soul in hell for all eternity to atone for all I had done. But for **_you_**."

2046 pointed at the stone statue of the first Indigo Champion.

"**_You _**ask for forgiveness from **_him_**. For failing him. For failing him and the long list of your every predecessor. For failing the people of Indigo and the people who you had wronged. For failing to do your rightful duty as the President of Indigo. You will ask for forgiveness from him for all your mistakes that killed so many others in the name of the greater good. Someone like me doesn't have the right to judge anybody else, but surely **_he_** is qualified."

2046 forced Kain to look up from where 2046 made him kneel by the feet of the statue of the first Indigo Champion, accompanied by the other stone statue of the unknown female. A female with ethereal looking features and long beautiful hair, the mysterious companion of the first Indigo Champion whose name had been purposely erased from history by the first Indigo Champion upon her request. The erasure was so thorough that no one had ever managed to figure out her identity even till now. All that is left are a few artifacts that she left behind at a small corner of Azalea and in the Vault. The few stories of her that were passed down through word of mouth throughout the centuries claimed that Indigo would never have been founded if it wasn't for her supporting the first Indigo Champion.

"You will die here today, Kain Briggs. We are not accepting any objections."

It was then Kain recognised it, how similar they are.

Doing whatever it takes to achieve their goals, how the only one person who had loved them forced them to walk the paths that they took, the look in his eyes which showed him that the child really believes that what he is doing now is the right thing to do. To protect the thing that they treasure most, they will do whatever it takes to see it done.

It's either him or them, that's what the child believes in too. He never sided with him, never sided with the Rockets, but sided with himself. Like him, he is someone who will never trust another soul ever again.

Kain let out an uncontrollable morbid laugh upon that realisation. A laugh from the bottom of his heart.

He's not wrong, he could really still see what others could not see. He's still right, he was always right all along. He really was right and yet he is also wrong. This child clearly is different, too different for his presence to be tolerated by the world. After today, there wouldn't be any place in the world that will and could take him in.

Like how he was ostracised by others as a child for being too brilliant, this child will be ostracised by the world for being too different. There will be no place for him in the world because of what he had done, because of how different he had lived his entire life.

He still has the last laugh, because he's still right.

"You won't die a pleasant death too, 2046. We are one and the same."

"I knew that a long time ago. I had long since made my peace and I know I will see you again, in hell." 2046 replied as gengar slowly opened its jaws wide and houndoom steadily closed in with its fangs bared.

"And I'm no longer 2046. Jane gave me a name."

The two people looked at each other for one last time. All the lies and deception, it ends today.

"My name is Jayce."

* * *

**Character and Pokemon List:**

**Name: Jayce**

**Age: 22**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Real identity: Oldest son to Grimsley Dandolos**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1.** **Ninetales, female **

**2.** **Exeggutor, male**

**3.** **Weavile, male**

**4.** **Honchkrow, female**

**5.** **Gengar, female **

**6.** **Houndoom, male **

**7.** **Umbreon, male**

**8.** **Hydreigon, male **

**9.** **Drapion, female **

**10.** **Zoroark, male**

**11.** **Bisharp, male**

**12.** **Shiftry, male**

**13.** **Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**


	25. Chapter 24- Rondo

From here onwards, there's nothing holding me back anymore.

I had done my part, both as a member of Team Rocket and as Indigo's operative. I had put an end to Kain, ending his life and rule over Indigo. I had given everything I learnt about Team Rocket over to Lance and the Indigo and helped where I can.

There's nothing more I can do here. I don't want to help Team Rocket any further, but I certainly do not want to be any more involved in Indigo's affairs, not after what they had done to me.

My time is up. There's only one thing left to do before I take my leave. If I somehow lived through this, then maybe I can find somewhere to live the rest of my life in peace. If I die, that's fine too.

_'This scene really is beautiful. So this is the whole of Indigo Plateau?'_

_'Yeah.' _I replied to Mewtwo through the mental link we now share from where I am currently sitting on the highest peak of Indigo Plateau, taking a short break and thinking through things before performing my last act. Due to our psychic connection, he sees what I see and feels what I feel. We are both seeing this through together.

_'You won't be caged in there any further. You will be released soon. You can go and visit Mount Silver that you had been so curious about.'_

_'Good.'_ I can feel Mewtwo's excitement through his voice. _'I cannot wait to get out and explore the world. What about you?'_

_'I don't know.'_ I answered truthfully. _'And it honestly doesn't matter.'_

_'I personally want to fully understand the Kanto region and see for myself what it really is. It is the region that I was originally created to protect, I want to at least understand the meaning of my existence, to see if Kanto is truly worth protecting.'_

_'Just be sure that you get the full picture, both the good and the bad, before coming to a decision. Don't be like me. In the end, even my pokemon kept things from me. Things that I should have known at least eight years ago.'_

_'It's-'_

_'For my own good?'_

There was a brief pause of silence. It's not hard to tell that even Mewtwo knew about Jane's secret even earlier than I do. I may be a master of deception and illusions, but I am the one who got deceived the longest.

The irony.

_'Do you hate her?'_

_'I could never hate her.' _I confessed. _'Even after all that, I could never stop loving her.'_

_'So… is what you feel about her... love?'_

_'To love is to give without condition, even if your actions are never reciprocated. This is why love is such a powerful emotion.'_

_'I… see.'_

_'No, you don't. You still don't understand what love is.'_

_'You got me there.' _Mewtwo chuckled before asking his next question. _'Jayce, we are… friends? Right?'_

_'If you would have me, I will be honoured to be your first friend. I cannot promise you that I will stay in this world for long though. You know how it is.'_

My phone buzzed and I checked the message received. The first phase of Operation Skip has been completed. Now, Giovanni and the rest of the Executives will be handling the next few phases as per the plan.

It's time.

_'Have you checked what we needed to know?'_

_'Surprisingly, it's Lance and his lackeys who first found out about what we didn't manage to find. You know about Kanto's Legendary Birds? The League suspect that they have been in Team Rocket's hands for quite some time now, they just don't have any proof.'_

_'So they need someone to verify their suspicions?'_

_'No one likes to be blindsided.'_

_'I see. I know now, what I should do.'_

Regardless if Giovanni really has the legendary birds with him or not, someone needs to stop or at the very least, delay him. If he does have the birds with him, then I need to prevent them from ever being used. Even if the Legendary Birds are not in Team Rocket's grasp, someone needs to slow Giovanni down before things do get out of hand.

Giovanni _needs _to be tracked down, ASAP. To effectively halt or take down an organised group, it's always wise to first take down their ringleader.

However, nobody has a clue about Giovanni's current location, not even me. At least, it wasn't made known to me no matter how I tried to inquire about it. So, the old-fashioned method of tracking him down it is.

I removed the breton cap from my head and took in one last look at the scene in front of me. In front of me is the Indigo Plateau, one of the highest points in Indigo, conveniently located between the two regions. From here, one can get the full view of the two regions that made up Indigo. I can finally see for myself what the other 358 operatives and I had sacrificed to protect.

This is Indigo, and it is really, _really _beautiful.

_It's all for the greater good. _

Today, I had done my part as the Rocket's Exterminator and eliminated Kain. Today, I had also finally done my part as Indigo's secret agent, Operative 2046, Code name: Gengar, and gave the Indigo League all that I knew about the biggest blight in the nation, allowing them to remove Team Rocket for good.

Today, I'm finally free.

I am no longer bound to anyone and any organisation. From this point onwards, everything I am going to do is of my own accord. From this point onwards, I am no longer a nameless person. I no longer need to hide myself behind false names.

From this point onwards, I only have one identity: Jayce.

It is a large weight off my shoulders.

_"You won't die a pleasant death too, 2046. We are one and the same."_

I closed my eyes as his final words echoed in my head. Kain isn't wrong, we are both one and the same. We had both willingly stained our hands in blood to do what we think is right. It's no longer a matter of what is right or wrong anymore. To Kain, what he did is what he views as right, because it is the only way he knows how to improve Indigo. In the name of the greater good, he had committed many unacceptable crimes behind the backs of the people he is supposed to protect.

So did I.

My mind went back to Operation Skip, the largest operation Team Rocket had conducted to date. Operation Skip has four phases.

The first phase of Team Rocket's plan is infiltration. This is the phase that Petrel is in charge of. To make our statement as effective as possible, our stage must be properly set before we conduct our act. Taking over the stadium, playing the pre-recorded video of Archer's speech live on TV, holding 100,000 people hostages. All of these are to facilitate the proceedings of the subsequent phases.

The second phase is getting Kain out of the way through assassination and defamation. While I assassinate Kain, evidence of **ALL** his shady dealings will be posted on the internet for the whole world to see during National Day itself. This is made possible not only through my secret access to Indigo's database as a double agent. Team Rocket's cyber army of porygons also made it possible to get our hands on this huge load of confidential data beforehand and upload it in a very short period of time. Everything has to be done live on TV to make an impact and help Team Rocket make a statement to the entire world. The entire cabinet of ministers will be assassinated by zoroark before I deal with Kain. Nosy will lead the cyber army of porygons to do what they do best.

The third phase is taking over Kanto, the part of the plan in which Proton is in charge of. This is the stage where everyone in Team Rocket will be involved. Taking advantage of the confusion caused at Indigo Plateau and Kain's defamation, Giovanni himself will rally the army of anti-Johto Kantonians he had long since gathered under the name of Team Rocket's secret leader to quickly create chaos in Kanto, fanning anti-Indigo and anti-Johto sentiments as they lead the masses to fight for Kanto's separation and her rights right in Kanto itself. The chaos that ensued will hold the Kanto's leaders long enough for Giovanni to do what needs to be done.

To conquer Johto.

To Giovanni, as long as Johto remains standing, Kanto will never be free. In his eyes, only when Indigo as a nation had divided and only when Johto had fallen would Kanto be truly free. Thus, the need to conquer Johto as soon as possible, to strike while the iron's hot when the League is the least prepared.

Every Johto city and town has a sizable number of Rocket groups stationed near it, each capable of taking over their respective territories in a single day. It is very possible that Team Rocket is able to make their goals a reality even before the day is over. With that, Team Rocket will then have conquered Johto with Giovanni as her new ruler. On this Indigo National Day, a revolution will happen and Indigo will be no more, because Kanto separated from the merger through walking a bloody path, consuming their oppressor who had been taking advantage of them since more than 500 years ago.

Furthermore, the Executives and Giovanni are all confident that Team Rocket can easily rally a large number of Kantonians from the Kanto populace to support their cause the moment Kain's acts are revealed. However, Giovanni foresaw that the Johto Gym Leaders will be a problem. According to Giovanni, each of Indigo's Gym Leaders are undeniably loyal to the League and must be neutralised. My role in the third phase is to neutralise the person who is arguably the most experienced and strongest Gym Leader in the Johto region, Pryce. Mewtwo will be used to destroy the Elite Four and Lance.

Thereafter, we can then proceed to the final phase of the plan, the phase which Archer himself had planned.

After taking over Johto and taking out their Pillars, Team Rocket will then proceed to unite Kanto. Giovanni had figured that after Kain's deeds are revealed to the world, the number of Kantonians who will side with them would probably be as much as those who oppose the idea, but there will also be an equally large number of people who will remain undecided. choosing to sit on the fence.

Thus, the siege on Johto must be conducted as soon as possible and our battles must be won as quickly as possible. This will be the final push for those who were standing on neutral ground to side with us, because nobody in their right mind would want to go against Team Rocket the moment Indigo fell. It doesn't matter if they chose to side with us willingly, all that matters is if we win today's battles and emerge as the victor from the war we had waged.

Even without Kain as President, Indigo is strong. Fighting Indigo's Gym Leaders is no cakewalk. Even if we have the numerical advantage in the form of an enormous and highly trained Team Rocket army, we don't have enough individuals to fight all of Indigo's Gym Leaders.

Assuming that Team Rocket does manage to conquer Johto within a day, there will undoubtedly be resistance from all sides. Kanto's Gym Leaders will no doubt be on our case. Our element of surprise will be gone after we neutralised Johto's Gym Leaders before the Indigo League knows what was going on, so Kanto's Gym Leaders will be expecting us. We will have to conquer Johto's towns and cities in the fastest way possible even before the Gym Leaders could react. Hence, the success of the final phase heavily relies on the Team Rocket members that are already present in Johto. They will be the deciding factor which determines if we can breach the various Johto cities and towns.

Because of this plan, this whole conquest is a race of whether Team Rocket can conquer both regions faster than the Indigo League can react to the sudden rebellion.

The first and second phase are already completed. Right now, Indigo Plateau is a warzone with everybody fighting with everybody else. Right now, public opinions are definitely divided about whether Indigo should continue to exist as a nation created by the merger of two regions. No doubt Giovanni is pleased at the results. With this, it is easier for him to persuade and convince Kantonians that Johtonians are nothing but their oppressors. It will be easy for him to persuade them to join Team Rocket's cause and I have no doubt that he can do it within the short span of a single day because he is a sincere and charismatic man.

If only we weren't enemies. I would have loved to work under him if we are not on opposite sides.

Unfortunately for Giovanni, I will not let Team Rocket's plan advance to the third phase. I can only hope that Lance can put a stop to things before everything goes downhill for the League but if we want to prevent the third phase from truly happening, **_someone _**has to stop Giovanni before he has the chance to really start fanning anti-Johto sentiments throughout Kanto.

There comes a small hiccup that I could not foresee until it happens now. I have no idea where Giovanni currently is, so stopping Giovanni begins with finding out just **_where _**he is right now. Someone needs to find him and the person best suited for this task is me.

If Giovanni were to try to escape, I would then need to stall for time for someone capable of bringing him down to appear. I will be forced to face Giovanni in a fight I cannot win because it will be a head-on fight, an area that I do not specialise in.

Nevertheless, I will take on this job to complete my original mission that birthed Project Illusion. My first and final mission, to protect the peace in Indigo at all costs. I'm not alone. My pokemon are with me. The lives of the 358 fellow child spies are with me and watching me, including Jane. I know she will be cheering me on like she always does from wherever she is right now.

My ultimate duty as a double agent is to uphold the peace in Indigo above all. The peace of Indigo, the greater good, that is what Jane had died for and I will uphold it for her no matter the cost.

For once, I don't feel like a villain. What a refreshing thought.

_'Mewtwo, what's the situation on your side?'_

_'Still restrained in this accursed M2 Bind. My powers are still being sapped away. Is this the time to curse and swear? I recently learnt a new word for this very situation. It's called FUCK.' _

_'Language. I taught you better than this.'_

_'Language? Hello? We are at war now and you are reprimanding me for the use of my **language?**'_

**_'You _**_are at war. **I **am taking a temporary vacation.'_

_'Oh fuck you.'_

_'Language.'_

_'Fuck, YOU. And by the way, it seems that it may take some time, but I believe that the lizard tamer and his lackeys will succeed in freeing me from this accursed piece of metal… eventually. They will definitely take quite a bit of time but I can finally leave this horrid place once they are done. I will rinse the Rocket hideouts in blood and-'_

_'Mewtwo. We promised.'_

_'Fine.' _Mewtwo relented. _'No unnecessary killing unless we really need it, I got it the first time. What about you? Are you really going to stop Giovanni all on your own?'_

_'Yes.'_

_'That's suicide and you know it.'_

_'If it means finally completing my mission, then so be it. You should know it better than I do, the longing to be free. No matter the outcome, I can finally be free once this is all over. No matter what happens, I can finally rest properly knowing that I did my best.'_

_'I still think that I should be the one fighting Giovanni.'_

_'He created you. He knows all of your strengths and weaknesses. I don't put it past him to have even more hidden countermeasures against you excluding the current M2 Bind. I need you to help Lance and the Thirteen Pillars to root out all the Rockets in every city.'_

_'I hope you mean only Johto's cities.'_

_'I mean every city. Starting from Kanto.'_

_'You, my friend, are a slave driver.'_

_'The League's main focus right now is at Johto, but Giovanni's homebase is at Kanto. It is where his influence is the strongest. Knowing him, he will use this opportunity to create chaos in Kanto as well to push his plans forward aggressively, not giving Indigo the space to even take a breather. The League could not possibly handle a war in Johto while dealing with riot outbreaks in Kanto. Someone needs to put a stop to whatever is going to happen in Kanto so that the League-'_

_'- can focus their attention to the war that is going to happen in Johto. I get it. Just why, why oh **why**, is that person tasked for the job, **ME?**'_

_'Because you are Mewtwo. Only a being as powerful as you can travel so quickly and frequently from one place to another with Teleport and not get tired. Only a being as powerful as you can take out Giovanni's massive and highly trained armies by himself and I trust only you to do it perfectly.'_

_'In that case, I will quickly wrap things up on my end before going to assist you.'_

_'No, stay away from my fight with Giovanni as planned.' _I insisted. _'As long as we don't give Giovanni a chance to recapture you, it's half the battle won. Staying away from him as far as possible is the easiest way to do it.'_

_'I **am **Mewtwo. I won't be a burden.'_

_'I know you won't be, but it's the only way I know how to protect you. When I see you, I… I see myself in you, Mewtwo. I see who I was before I became Plague. I don't want you to end up with the same fate as me, to be someone else's tool. I know it is illogical for you to not take part in this battle against Giovanni, but it is a selfish wish of mine that I want to see done.'_

_'Jayce-'_

_'I want to protect you. You are the only person left that I can protect. For once, let me be the one to do the protecting instead of being protected. For once, let me protect something that I deem important enough to risk my life for. This time, not because I have orders to do so, but on my own volition.'_

_'You protect me, but there's nobody to do so for you.'_

_'I don't need it. I'm a dying man.'_

_'Jayce-'_

_'Be free, Mewtwo.'_ I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the cool breeze blowing across my face. _'Enjoy your life and be free. Enjoy the one thing that I could never enjoy. That's the last gift I can give you as Jayce, your friend.'_

_'Jayce? Jayce!'_

My thoughts conveyed, I told Mewtwo the last thing I want to tell him before I forcefully severed our telepathic link.

_'Thank you, Mewtwo, for being my friend.'_

* * *

In Lance's opinion, things had mostly gone according to plan thus far with a few hiccups. The biggest hiccup is that nobody knew where Giovanni and Kain had gone. Kain is unimportant right now, but not knowing Giovanni's current location is worrying. He had received an anonymous message from an unknown number telling him that whoever sent him the message is tracking Giovanni down and will relay to him Giovanni's location once he has confirmation. Lance can only assume that the sender of this message is his mysterious informant. That is the most educated guess that he can make given what he knew.

Upon getting wind of the entire situation about the attack Team Rocket had planned to launch on Indigo, Lance immediately knew that he cannot do this alone. He had enlisted the help of people he trusts the moment he made his decision to take matters into his own hands and do something to protect the fragile peace of Indigo. Any form of help he could possibly get, he took it.

Even if it means swallowing his pride as Indigo Champion and asking help from important figures from other regions, because he failed in his job as _Champion_.

And it paid off. Sure, the fact that almost the entire cabinet of ministers were somehow slain in front of their very eyes without anyone realising until his battle with Mewtwo started was something they could never expect to happen, but at least there are no other casualties among the civilians within the Indigo Stadium. At least, not to his current knowledge.

As of now, Indigo Plateau is on lockdown. The Rockets that he knew had infiltrated the place had all been arrested, defeated, and accounted for. Innocents are safe and are currently under protection from a very special department of the police force that he can trust.

Now, it's time for Indigo's counterattack.

There are many elite forces from the Police, Rangers, and STAR stationed here today that are not made known of this important event until right before it started. Fortunately for him, these people are the best of the best in what they do. They can handle a few emergency missions and adapt to the sudden threat thrown their way. It left a bad taste in his mouth that he has to assign them emergency missions immediately but he has no choice. He absolutely cannot allow any chance for a leak to happen for this counterattack they had been planning.

"Koga! Initiate the next part of the plan! We will end this in one fell swoop!"

His attention was brought back to the struggling man-made psychic pokemon in front of him that they are trying to free. They are not only succeeding in their endeavours, but they are making good time too. Discounting that unexpected public reveal about Kain by Team Rocket's Archer and the unexpected assassination of most of Indigo's cabinet members, everything else had gone to plan.

It's time.

It's time to do what he should have done the moment he became Champion.

* * *

Surprisingly, it didn't take me long. I found Giovanni at the outskirts of Violet City, right in the depths of the Dark Cave. He's alone. That also meant that I was too late. Team Rocket's main army that was hidden here had already marched out towards Violet City for war, to conquer the heart of the region as swiftly as possible.

The only time when Giovanni's guard is at his lowest is when he thought that everything had gone his way. This is the perfect time to strike, to stop him before things get too far. According to the original plan, Archer would be at Olivine to take over Johto's gateway to the world. I should be at Mahogany to prevent one of Indigo's strongest Pillars, Pryce, from interfering with our plans.

However, I don't plan on sticking to the script.

"Plague? What are you doing here? You are supposed to be at Mahogany."

"Giovanni." I greeted him when I finally found him at a secret Rocket hideout based in the bowels of Johto's Dark Cave. He sensed me even before I could do anything, no doubt because of his ground types. He is obviously suspicious of my appearance right now. The next phase had started and while our objectives had been achieved, things were not progressing as well as he had hoped. Me suddenly appearing before him at this crucial time is enough to make him worry.

Furthermore, I am not wearing my Team Rocket uniform. I had discarded it without a second thought the moment I finished my assignment to kill Kain.

I had wanted to take Giovanni by surprise. I had planned to either knock him out or kill him before this could turn out into a direct confrontation. There's no point in kidding myself that I could possibly stand a chance against _him _in a straight fight. A direct confrontation with him is something that I want to avoid at all costs.

Although seeing that I had failed, a direct confrontation with him is now inevitable.

"If this is what I think it is." Giovanni spoke in an ominous tone as he stood up from his seat. "I can still let this go if you walk out through that door right now and go do what you are supposed to be doing. My judgement of you still hasn't changed. You are a good man, Plague, but if you are so insistent on going against us then I will not show any mercy, even if it's you."

"I'm afraid I have to go against your orders, Sir." I said with a smile. Despite the fact that we are now enemies, he was one of the few people who had been genuinely nice to me. Even if I die by his hands, I have no more regrets.

I have already fulfilled both my roles as the Rocket's Exterminator and Operative 2046. Right now, I finally have the freedom to choose what I want to do. I had made my choice. I choose to try stopping Giovanni not as Plague, not as Operative 2046.

But as Jayce.

"Allow me the chance to reintroduce myself, Sir." I said as I took off the breton cap off my head as my sign of respect for him. "I am originally one of the three hundred and fifty-nine child spies trained under Kain's Project Illusion. Sadly, I am the only remaining one left because everyone else had perished in the line of duty. As such, their lives and mission are now mine to bear. I am Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar. My duty is to protect the peace in Indigo and my mission was to infiltrate your organisation under Kain's orders for that very cause."

There is an unreadable expression on Giovanni's face as he stared at me for a short while in silence, but he finally spoke.

"So did you really assassinate Kain?"

I reported the truth without hesitation.

"I did, Sir. I may be his operative, but I want to see him dead as well. That was one thing we could agree on, so I did it. He's thoroughly dead and nobody would ever know what happened to him."

"I see." Giovanni gave a long sigh as he closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them again.

"And your name? Real name."

"I don't have one." I confessed truthfully.

"_Don't_ have one?"

"It doesn't matter if you call me Jacob, Jose, Justin, whatever. Those are my names but at the same time, they aren't. All I have are codenames. The closest I got to a name was the one Jane picked for me. She called me Jayce. You know her by her previous codename in the organisation, Helen."

Giovanni remained silent for a little longer before he spoke up again.

"I take it she was like you? A spy?"

"Yes."

"Then this is for her. You want to avenge her, for us forcing you to kill her."

"That was my motivation, but not anymore. Not after I heard your side of the story." I said as a bittersweet feeling permeated my body at the thought of Jane and her sacrifice.

"I could not bring myself to hate you after your truthful confession about SKIP. I had felt your sincerity, and I even understood where you were coming from. Both of us have our own duty and the weight of our comrades' lives now rests on our shoulders. There is no way we can stop because too much has been lost. Hence, the only way forward is to push on. The only way forward for you is to push for Kanto's separation through war. The only way forward for me is to stop you by any means necessary. I hope you understand."

"I can understand you, but I don't understand Kain._ Child spies?_" Giovanni sneered as he banged his fist against a nearby wall. "So this is how _low _Kain had stooped? _That bastard._ How young were you when he abducted you?"

"I don't have any memories prior to Project Illusion but from what I had recently dug out, probably at around a week old."

"The reason I fought for so long is to make Kanto great again. To make things peaceful." Giovanni said in a firm but soft voice, surprising me. "It was to bring peace and prosperity to our land, to see children grow up happy and carefree, so that people like me and you would never appear again. You have my pity, Pla- no, _Jayce_, but I cannot stop. I will offer you this last chance not as a boss to his subordinate, but from a friend to another. If you don't want to help me, then don't get in my way. Leave, and don't ever come back."

"I'm afraid I am unable to comply. I know I cannot win, but I have to try."

"Then so be it."

The ground exploded as the marowak standing beside Giovanni used an Earthquake to bring the entire hideout down. There is nobody else here other than the two of us, so it is a relief that we both can fight at our full power.

"Exeggutor."

Exeggutor teleported me to safety before I got myself buried under the rubble. At the same time, I already had Nosy relay to Indigo Giovanni's current location. It shouldn't take long before Indigo's best trainers make their way here to stop Giovanni.

The entire hideout had been destroyed in that one move. When we finally got out of the Dark Cave, Giovanni stood opposite me amidst the wreckage, his entire team already released for battle. My team had been hiding nearby and they appeared before me when they knew my attempt at subduing Giovanni had failed. I had told them what we are going to do and they know full well the chances of us winning this battle.

Zero.

That doesn't mean that we couldn't try. Giovanni is insanely powerful. He is leagues ahead of me, but I could do something to make it easier for the people that will arrive after me to bring him to justice. I can never defeat him but that doesn't mean I cannot leave a mark that never heals. All of this is so that this might make it easier for the people after me to defeat him.

Giovanni is just that strong.

"Fire Spin!"

Ninetales unleashed a raging torrent of fire from her mouth that encircled Giovanni and his pokemon. However, a Bulldoze from his garchomp snuffed it out in a few seconds. That was ninetales at her full power after powering up beforehand with Nasty Plot and yet we couldn't even scratch it.

We are so severely outclassed that I almost burst out laughing.

"You haven't had an official Gym Battle before, had you? Not with that kind of life you lead." Giovanni asked casually with his hands in his pockets before his right hand emerged with his Earth Badge in hand, displaying it for me to see.

"Your point, Sir?"

"Why don't I grace you with this opportunity to let you experience your very first Gym Battle? Of course, the rules have to be amended a little because this is a life and death battle, but what do you say, Jayce?"

Even with the circumstances that I am stuck in, I cannot help but grin.

"It will be an honour to fight you at your full strength." I replied honestly.

For once, I need not lie. Experiencing the life of a normal trainer, catching pokemon normally and earning gym badges is something that I never thought I would have the privilege to experience. For Giovanni to give me this offer, this is the last act of kindness he can show me.

He must have really liked me a lot to do this. I must have really earned his trust before I stabbed him painfully in the back.

Somehow, the thought of it hurts me on the inside. Like a dagger stabbed in the heart before someone twisted it even further.

"I will change the stakes a little. If you win, the Earth Badge is yours and I will be at your mercy. If I win, you will rejoin Team Rocket once more as Executive Plague. You _will _swear your undying loyalty to us and you will fight for our cause without hesitation. What do you always like to say?_ I won't accept any objections._ I'm returning your favourite phrase back to you, Jayce. I am not accepting any objections. Not this time."

"Then I guess I really don't have a choice other than to go all out, do I?" I said with a grin despite how wrecked with tension my entire body is. My instincts are going haywire, my muscles are screaming at me to run and I am shaking in fear but for the first time, I had never experienced such undiluted joy and freedom before.

For the first time, I'm happy, because I finally have the freedom to do what I want.

Sorry Jane, you will need to wait a little longer before I join you on the other side. Let me be selfish for just this once. I will join you as soon as my battle with Giovanni is over.

I promise.

Nosy is not with me now. I had sent him away to do what he needed to do, so I currently only have twelve pokemon with me. Not like Nosy's a battler in the first place but that's still one pokemon down. Coincidentally, that is the same number of pokemon that I counted Giovanni having on his side right now. I never knew just how many pokemon there are in his team but this should be it. Twelve versus twelve, this will be an equal fight.

Giovanni beckoned for me to come at him.

"You can have the first move, _challenger_. I want to see with my own eyes just how good you really are. Show me how you earned the strength to be called the Rocket's Exterminator."

With a subtle hand signal from me, my team leapt into action. Shiftry had immediately shot Leech Seeds at Giovanni's team as zoroark hid himself from view using his illusions. The rest of my team charged ahead towards the team of monsters Giovanni had raised.

"Earth Power."

A powerful Earth Power exploded the ground beneath us once more when Giovanni gave the order to his dugtrio. My team had managed to evade the attack in time. Still, this is not in our favour. A direct confrontation is not what we are good at and we are forced into a direct confrontation with Giovanni.

"Drapion!"

With a savage howl, drapion unleashed the largest volley of Toxic Spikes I had ever seen her fire. Giovanni's sandslash tried to disperse it with a Rapid Spin only to be intercepted by bisharp with a Sucker Punch.

"Destroy the Toxic Spikes!"

"Don't let them! Hypnosis!"

Gengar and ninetales immediately tried to catch Giovanni's pokemon by surprise and Giovanni quickly told them to abort their previous order and focus on not looking at gengar's and ninetales' eyes. Even then, they managed to get his nidoqueen to fall asleep.

Hypnosis works by employing a hypnotic suggestion. For most pokemon, they could only make it work by having the user stare at the eyes of the target while unleashing a psychic wave to induce sleep. However, the truth is that Hypnosis does not need the user to strictly rely on eye contact alone to ensure the move connects. A truly skilled user of Hypnosis can do it even through something as simple as pointing a finger or laughing into their ear.

Yes, for most pokemon Hypnosis is almost always done using the eyes, but the key to making Hypnosis work is to ensure that the psychic wave has successfully reached its target and has successfully interfered with their mind. Closing your eyes won't work if the psychic waves are not unleashed from the user's eyes.

"Nidoqueen, Sleep Talk!"

"Do it!" I immediately commanded before nidoqueen could fire off her first attack.

It is not easy and this is suicidal, but the only way our team could ever possess firepower on Giovanni's level is to turn his own against him. The only way we could do it is to hypnotise one of his pokemon and turn it into our temporary ally.

And so, to Giovanni's surprise, his nidoqueen started to attack its own allies instead when it used Sleep Talk. My pokemon had done a good job in tricking its mind that it is fighting us instead.

"Venoshock!"

With the Toxic Spikes succeeding in badly poisoning Giovanni's team, nidoqueen's Venoshock managed to do a lot of damage to them while they were still reeling from the surprise of having their teammate turned against them. Hydreigon and houndoom pressed on the advantage as they quickly fired blasts of ranged attacks at Giovanni's team, hoping to wear them down as quickly as possible.

The only pokemon on Giovanni's team who is immune to the poison is his Gliscor, who obviously possesses the rare Poison Heal ability.

"Gliscor, Sand Tomb!"

"Weavile, intercept gliscor! Exeggutor!"

Weavile immediately fired an Ice Shard to knock gliscor out of the air before following up with an Icicle Crash. Nidoqueen is still going on a rampage within Giovanni's backlines with Giovanni's pokemon trying to stop it. Exeggutor's eyes glowed before it used its next move to remove the Poison Heal ability from gliscor.

Skill Swap. Now, gliscor's Poison Heal ability is exeggutor's while exeggutor's Chlorophyll now belongs to gliscor.

"Hippowdon, Fissure!"

The ground split open at where weavile is at as weavile tried his best to run away. Gengar took weavile's place when she used an Ally Switch to switch places with weavile, using her immunity to ground type moves from her Levitate ability to guard herself from harm.

"You sure did your homework before coming to face me for battle, Jayce!" Giovanni shouted at me as he commanded his pokemon to regroup before launching another wave of attack at us. My team got into a defensive formation, prepared for the incoming attack.

"Honchkrow, Flatter!"

Honchkrow quickly used Flatter on Giovanni's garchomp, forcefully interrupting its charge due to its confused status. Weavile immediately followed up with a Punishment before freezing it solid with Blizzard. Giovanni's krookodile tried to catch weavile, only for umbreon to sneak up to its back and unleash a Confuse Ray on it.

The only pokemon on Giovanni's team that can possibly Mega Evolve is garchomp. If garchomp is down, then Giovanni could not possibly use Mega Evolution. That means that I will be severely limiting him from using his full strength.

"Foul Play!"

My dark types immediately attacked garchomp with Foul Play but Giovanni's rhyperior got in our way before forcing them to scatter with a powerful Stone Edge. His golem rolled towards us with a Rollout and drapion met it head-on with an Aqua Tail, knocking it away from us. Drapion's abilities had been randomly raised with many uses of Acupressure. Right now, it has enough power to hold herself against any of Giovanni's monsters solo for at least a short period of time.

A familiar bellow shook the ground as a massive mamoswine unleashed a raging Blizzard our way. It is definitely the same one I poached at Cherrygrove. Maybe Giovanni wanted it so that he has something he can use against Lance's dragons, but that is just my speculation.

"Inferno!"

Houndoom fought ice with fire and successfully blocked off that Blizzard. Since the start of the battle, honchkrow had been circling far away from the main fight to ensure her Taunt and Torment are constantly in effect on Giovanni's pokemon. With that, Giovanni can only use offensive moves. His pokemon cannot power-up, nor can they heal themselves.

"Create a room! Rhyperior, Stone Edge!"

Right before our very eyes, the land around us changed again as Giovanni's rhyperior trapped us all in a dark room made of rocks and hardened earth. A booming sound could be heard before we spotted his golem propelling towards us with a Rollout once more. What's different this time is that drapion knocking it away can no longer change anything because golem simply bounced off the walls of the room before charging back at us again. The directions became more and more erratic, its speed getting faster and faster. It is just a matter of time before golem gets us all with just one good hit. This room is too small and confined for us to do anything.

"Rock Slide!"

Honchkrow was forced to fly under the protection of exeggutor's barriers before she could be taken out by surprise from this unexpected attack. There is close to no visibility other than the flames ninetales and houndoom are giving off. That also means that the multiple visual illusions that zoroark had set up might as well be useless. Giovanni's monsters are not relying on their sense of sight right now.

Giovanni's ground types can sense us through the vibrations that travelled through the ground. They don't rely on the sense of sight as readily as we do. With just one move, Giovanni has levelled the playing field and the flow of the battle is now his to direct.

We tried bringing down the room in one big attack but it is never enough to fully destroy the room for us to get out of there in time. Giovanni's pokemon will just repair the damage caused before we could make our getaway and golem will be there to run us down with Rollout once more. A sandpit is slowly forming beneath us and we are slowly sinking in. At this rate, we will really lose.

There's still something which we haven't tried.

Golem came rocketing at us once more and bisharp bodily stopped it with an Iron Head, shattering golem's rocky hide. However, golem used this chance to rain rocks at us at point blank. Ninetales barely stopped it with Extrasensory before exeggutor sent golem flying away with a Seed Bomb.

"Now, shiftry!"

Shiftry gave a howl before unleashing an extremely powerful Razor Wind that it had been preparing for quite a while. With a circular sweep of its bladed fans, he cut down the entire room while all of us quickly lay prone on the floor to escape his indiscriminate attack. That wild move had successfully caught Giovanni and his pokemon by surprise. Weavile used this chance to create footholds for us by using an Ice Beam, allowing us to climb out of the sandpit.

My ears caught a whirring sound as Marowak's bone came hurling after us with a Bonemerang. Shiftry attempted to cut it down with a Leaf Blade only for dugtrio to emerge beneath it and fired a Tri Attack, blasting shiftry away from us and right into Giovanni's nidoking's waiting claws.

"Umbreon, cover shiftry!"

Umbreon roared as he activated Wish, instantly healing shiftry's wounds as shiftry nimbly evaded nidoking's lunge with a Double Team. Shiftry also used this chance to plant a Worry Seed on the behemoth, effectively changing nidoking's ability to Insomnia instead of its usual Poison Point.

Giovanni's nidoqueen is no longer under our control and it charges at us, forcing hydreigon to constantly fire attacks to get it to back off. Nidoqueen responded in kind. Garchomp had also managed to free itself from its earlier frozen status and whipped up a Sandstorm, changing the environment of the battlefield into Giovanni's favour.

Dugtrio and hippowdon charged at us this time, no doubt taking advantage of this Sandstorm to use their Sand Force ability to its fullest potential. Dugtrio kept trying to ambush us from below while hippowdon kept charging at us like an unstoppable force, forcing us to keep retreating backwards.

"Houndoom! Zoroark!"

Houndoom dispersed the sandstorm by changing the weather with Sunny Day. A powerful Grass Knot snared both hippowdon and dugtrio, allowing ninetales and exeggutor to hit them with Solar Beam. Gliscor would benefit from the sunny weather thanks to the earlier Skill Swap exeggutor did with it, but we don't have a choice.

"Inferno!"

Houndoom and ninetales let loose a powerful wall of flames that engulfed hippowdon and dugtrio. Giovanni's krookodile attempted to blindside us as it burrowed beneath our feet and ambushed us, but exeggutor had sensed it coming and used a Stomp to close its opened jaws shut. Gengar fired a Focus Blast, pushing the krookodile away from us as we tried to take hippowdon and dugtrio down.

"Avalanche!"

The biggest Avalanche I had ever seen rained down on us and we have no choice but to evade that attack, letting hippowdon and dugtrio out of our grasp. Hydreigon then cleared the debris with a powerful Dragon Pulse, protecting us from harm.

"Night Daze!"

"Earthquake!"

Darkness met earth as zoroark's Night Daze ran rampant while garchomp hit us all with an Earthquake. Exeggutor warned us of an incoming golem, who had used the Earthquake to bounce itself into the sky in an attempt to take out honchkrow.

Shiftry whipped up a Tailwind that blew honchkrow away from golem's charge. Golem simply rained rocks down on us again from the air with Rock Slide before dropping down with a Heavy Slam. Nidoking and nidoqueen are charging at us from two different directions while rhyperior fires another Rock Wrecker, hoping to take us out in a pincer attack.

Exeggutor's psychic powers audibly hummed as he blocked all the attacks with the strongest Reflect he could muster, but not before golem broke through it with a Brick Break. Shiftry unleashed a Leaf Tornado and blew golem away. Drapion swung her mighty claws and attacked nidoqueen with a Night Slash as hydreigon blasted nidoking with a Dragon Pulse.

Gengar tried to ensnare them with a Hypnosis once more but dugtrio disrupted the Hypnosis with a Shadow Claw. The ground we were standing on sank as all of us were suddenly dropped down below the surface, much to our surprise.

A gigantic hole had opened up beneath us. Golem dropped down with us from the skies and started to glow a bright white.

There's only one attack that I know of that not only makes the user glow this white, and it also happens to be a move that golems are famous for using.

"Somebody do something and stop golem!"

We are defenseless while free falling and only a few of my pokemon possess flight capabilities. Hydreigon was the nearest to golem and immediately started attacking relentlessly and bodily pushed golem away before it could use Explosion, preventing it from taking us all out using just one move. However, it is getting gradually obvious that hydreigon does not have any attacks that can quickly take golem out before Explosion can be used.

"Hydreigon! **Don't!**"

To my worry, hydreigon physically grabbed golem before flying straight up into the air. The Explosion went off a few seconds later as golem self-destructed with Explosion far above us.

_God damn it._

Exeggutor finally managed to catch us with his psychic powers before enveloping us all in a spherical psychic barrier of Reflect. By the time he teleported us out of the hole Giovanni dropped us in, hydreigon is lying motionlessly on the ground, bleeding profusely as many of golem's rock shrapnels embedded itself into his thick hide.

"I wasn't expecting you to only come out of that with only one pokemon down. To know how to cut your losses in a split-second decision is something that can only be seen in the higher level of Elite trainers, Jayce. You clearly have the potential to be one of my most favoured subordinates under the rule of the new Kanto. Give up. You cannot win now that your strongest fighter is out of the count."

I gritted my teeth, my fists clenched as Giovanni said those words. Hydreigon's defeat so early on is something we never planned for. Even while being hindered by Taunt, Torment, and Toxic, the rest of Giovanni's team still looked as right as rain, as if they are not the least bit affected by the restrictions we imposed on them.

This is how strong Giovanni is. _This _is how powerful the strongest Gym Leader of Kanto is.

I returned hydreigon back to his pokeball as Giovanni recalled his golem. I took this short respite to forcefully calm myself down, letting my rational mind do the thinking. I don't need to win, I just need to stall long enough for someone strong enough to defeat Giovanni to reach here. By now, Nosy should have successfully sent our current location to someone strong enough to defeat Giovanni. All I have to do is to draw this out for as long as I can.

"Zoroark. Blind them."

Zoroark roared and unleashed waves after waves of Night Daze, destroying our surroundings and hiding us from view as the shockwaves of pitch black energy covered us like a shroud. Many of Giovanni's team consisted of behemoths that we have no hope of taking on when they are grouped up like that. We need to pick them off one by one.

We will start with the weakest.

Gengar took this opportunity to dive into the holes that dugtrio had made. If it is a battle in the darkness, the possibility of gengar losing is close to nil. Gengar cannot be felt through vibrations on the ground because she is near weightless. With Night Daze blocking Giovanni's sight of me, we can use this opportunity to take out dugtrio, who definitely had been the culprit in digging and then dropping us in such a big hole without us realising until it was too late.

Meanwhile, honchkrow can prepare for our final move without Giovanni knowing. I cannot let him know that this move had been used, so blinding him was necessary.

I gave my next order using an almost inaudible whisper.

"Honchkrow, Perish Song. Weavile, cover it up with Screech."

I have no idea if these twelve pokemon are the only ones Giovanni has, but I know that these twelve pokemon are Gym Leader level kind of strong. It is hard to raise pokemon to this level. Regardless if Giovanni has anymore pokemon other than these twelve, taking them down will only be good for us.

I will stop Giovanni using whatever it takes.

Weavile's Screech is loud enough to obscure the sound from Honchkrow's Perish Song, just like we had practiced. With that, Giovanni shouldn't have known that Perish Song had been used and an invisible timer is now ticking down.

Three minutes, that is the time limit for Perish Song to take effect. Now, I need to do all I can to take his attention away from the fact that all we have to do is to hold out for another three minutes before I accomplished what I came to do.

I cannot allow Giovanni to escape. I cannot allow him to be able to fight at full strength against whoever is coming to stop him next. I need to severely cripple or hinder him until someone strong enough arrives to stop him. I don't know who that will be, but at this point I can only blindly put my faith in Lance and Indigo's Thirteen Pillars to be able to come here in time to stop him.

Gengar burst out from the ground, cackling loudly as a badly wounded dugtrio was brought to the surface, too injured to continue battling. Meanwhile, Umbreon secretly casted a Mean Look in case Giovanni found out about Perish Song and wanted to switch his pokemon out.

"Press on! Night Slash!"

Bisharp swung his bladed arms towards marowak, who retaliated with a Bone Club. Zoroark continues to let loose with Night Daze in order to provide us with the darkness we need.

"Don't let up! Dark Pulse!"

As one, our team fired Dark Pulses at marowak while bisharp held it down to not allow it any chance to defend or evade our combined attack. Giovanni's mamoswine fired an Ice Beam in an attempt to defend marowak but our combined firepower is enough to overpower it, scoring a critical hit on mamoswine instead. Ninetales unleashed an Overheat to quickly make use of this opportunity to bring mamoswine down but rhyperior held off the attack with a Surf.

"Drill Run!"

Rhyperior began its charge and there's nothing we can do to stop it. Drapion might be able to, but I don't want to overcommit when I don't have full confidence for us to last until the effects of Perish Song finally kicks in. I can see gliscor diving down on us from above, making use of the Chlorophyll ability that exeggutor had swapped with it in this sunny weather. Weavile fired beams of ice at it for it to stay away but the gliscor simply opted to brave through it.

Giovanni isn't letting up as the rest of his ground types unleashed a collective Earth Power to not even give us a stable foothold to stand on. If we cannot do anything against Giovanni's unstoppable behemoths, then everything will be for naught. Giovanni will escape before any League reinforcements will arrive. He will get away scot free and Team Rocket will simply regrow again, this time without a spy to feed Indigo with the information it needs.

I cannot give up here, not when I'm so close. My pokemon and I had reached an understanding long ago, that we will do whatever it takes to stop Giovanni.

If we cannot last until Perish Song takes effect, we will take down as many of his pokemon as we can.

"Get the rhyperior! Shiftry!"

Shiftry leapt towards rhyperior and blew another Leaf Tornado, only managing to briefly slow rhyperior's charge. Drapion's Venoshock wasn't any good either, rhyperior barely flinched despite the pain it was feeling. That doesn't matter. What matters is whether we can bring it down.

Shiftry tripped rhyperior with a Low Sweep before started to attack wildly with various attacks, attempting to wear rhyperior down. Gliscor wanted to aid rhyperior but was intercepted by honchkrow and weavile. Umbreon started to attack without care of his safety, utilising Yawn before releasing a large amount of psychic energy with Stored Power.

"Nidoking, nidoqueen!"

"Gengar! Bisharp! Stop them at all cost!"

Bisharp took on a defensive role as it took on before returning every attack he received with a Payback, Revenge, or Metal Burst. He won't outlast the nidoking he is facing. Gengar is blasting ghostly attacks at nidoqueen but nidoqueen's defences are too strong for her to break through.

"Take them all down! Incinerate!"

"Gengar!" I cannot help but cry out worriedly. Bisharp had thrown up a Protect while Gengar willingly let herself get hit by those flames, letting out a pained shriek in the process.

_'Master Jayce. Do not falter.'_

I gritted my teeth at the reminder. Exeggutor is right, now is not the time to falter.

"Do it! Explosion!"

At my signal, exeggutor immediately used his barriers to cage rhyperior together with shiftry and nidoking and nidoqueen with gengar. With that, there is no place for them to run.

The results didn't disappoint.

A gigantic Explosion later, Rhyperior, nidoking, and nidoqueen were all knocked out by the Explosion they received. Usually, gengar's Explosion wouldn't have dealt so much damage, but combining that with Destiny Bond is a different story. Shiftry had managed to single handedly defeat rhyperior with Explosion by wearing it down with Giga Drains and Leech Seed on top of its already poisoned status. Umbreon's previously utilised Yawn might have also helped.

Bisharp was suddenly sent flying towards us as sandslash appeared from the ground, attacking it with a Brick Break. Another Focus Blast took it out for the count and I was forced to recall bisharp.

_'How long left?'_

_'Two minutes.'_

If sacrificing three on our side only bought us one minute, then I have no choice.

"Houndoom!"

Houndoom howled as he finally leapt into the thick of the battle. Giovanni's eyes widened as he recognised what I'm about to do.

"Are you **_crazy_**, Jayce?! Your body is already in pieces! You might die if you use Mega Evolution again!"

**_"Then so be it!"_**

Mega Houndoom represented our determination to stop Giovanni as he scorched mamoswine with his flames. Giovanni was obviously about to invoke Mega Evolution on his garchomp when the rest of my pokemon interfered, more than ready to steal the garchompite from garchomp.

Sandslash got in the way as it unleashed a Rock Slide that drapion quickly got rid of. Hippowdon emerged from beneath the ground and caught drapion with a sickening Crunch, easily breaking through drapion's tough armour.

"Don't stop! Don't let Giovanni use Mega Evolution on garchomp! Push on!"

Umbreon let out an ear piercing Screech that got Giovanni's pokemon to flinch for a short while. Weavile took this opportunity and dashed ahead with a burst of speed in garchomp's direction, using his small size to his advantage to dodge attacks it otherwise wouldn't have been able to avoid.

"Dragon Tail!"

Garchomp easily caught weavile with its next attack. I can hear the snapping of bones as weavile's body sailed through the air and landed away from us in a crumpled heap. Weavile didn't get back up. Drapion finally managed to free herself from hippowdon and unleashed a Cross Poison on garchomp which it responded with a Dual Chop. Hippowdon tried to take drapion down only for zoroark to suddenly make his appearance and fired a Dark Pulse into its eye, blinding it for good on one side of its face before hiding himself once more.

Upon seeing Giovanni's confused expression on his face as he failed to invoke Mega Evolution, I knew weavile had succeeded in using Embargo. It is not a common move that anyone would use as it simply prevents the target from utilising their held items for a short while. The League regulated battles doesn't allow you to use held items anyway, so most trainers wouldn't even bother to teach their pokemon this move.

However, in our case, this move is more than enough to buy time for us for Perish Song to take effect and make sure garchomp cannot mega evolve within this same period of time. We just got ourselves a small advantage.

"Exeggutor! Grassy Terrain!"

The barren land bloomed as it gradually restored the health of every grounded pokemon. That is not what I'm aiming for. What is important in our usage of Grassy Terrain is that ground type moves like Earthquake, Bulldoze, and Magnitude will have their powers halved while Grassy Terrain is in effect. It is the perfect move to use against Giovanni.

Exeggutor used a Gravity to pin gliscor down, making it so that now gliscor is also grounded and affected by Grassy Terrain and unable to fight effectively for the moment.

"Solar Beam!"

Ninetales and exeggutor fired their combined attack at marowak once more, the only pokemon on Giovanni's team that is most unlikely to survive such an attack. Garchomp fired a Dragon Pulse that Umbreon copied with Mimic, allowing him to land a cheap shot on the dragon instead.

Marowak dodged the Solar Beam with a Detect before charging at us with a Double Edge. Exeggutor started a bombardment of Egg Bomb and Bullet Seed but marowak simply batted all of them away like an expert swordsman.

Umbreon let out a cry as he used a powerful Psychic to forcefully halt marowak's charge. It only succeeded for a short while as sandslash hit umbreon from below a second later with Dig. Umbreon only managed to hang on with a use of Endure.

"Flail!"

With a desperate cry, umbreon slammed his body at sandslash, dealing a massive amount of damage as zoroark appeared behind sandslash at the same time and fired a Dark Pulse, finally taking it down from how close the Dark Pulse was fired in its face. Marowak leapt towards zoroark from behind, intending to take him out before he could hide himself with illusions once more.

A squawk could be heard before honchkrow dove in with a Drill Peck, knocking marowak away and into drapion's direction. Drapion's tail extended and caught marowak while it was busy fighting Giovanni's garchomp, krookodile, hippowdon, gliscor, and mamoswine together with Mega Houndoom and ninetales. With a swing, drapion swung the captured marowak around with Brutal Swing and slammed it into hippowdon's side which zoroark had blinded, further aggravating its injury.

Zoroark had gone back to hiding once again. Even if Giovanni's ground types can sense zoroark's exact position through vibrations instead of sight, zoroark has always been good at hiding his presence. I'm sure he can find a way to get a drop on Giovanni's pokemon again.

_'A minute left.'_

"Draco Meteor!"

Upon Giovanni's command, his garchomp rained down a Draco Meteor whose power and scale is unlike anything I had seen before.

_'Exeggutor, can you block it?'_

_'I can try.'_

I blew a whistle and my team regrouped around exeggutor, who had now been forced to use a Protect to defend us from harm. The rain of meteors had barely died down when a Fissure opened beneath us again and exeggutor was forced to use a Teleport to bring us to safety.

Umbreon had finished recovering with Wish and blasted Giovanni's team with a Psychic, only for us to realise that garchomp is missing.

_'Behind us!'_

Ninetales was the first to react as she leapt and put herself in between us and garchomp, who had emerged behind us the moment exeggutor gave us the warning. She bit on one of garchomp's arms and unleashed another Overheat but garchomp braved through it. In the short span of time exeggutor teleported us to a safe distance away from garchomp, garchomp had knocked ninetales away with a Dual Chop before crushing her beneath its foot with an Earthquake. Ninetales gave a pained howl before going limp, no longer able to battle.

"Give up, Jayce! Before I'm forced to kill you! Pokemon can be replaced, people like you can't! I understand your confusion and your sense of duty but **_don't you see?!_** The current Indigo is cancerous! Like a growing tumour, slowly leading us to our ruin! We can only change it if we carve ourselves a bloody path to freedom! _Join us, Jayce! _You know what Team Rocket really is after all these years! Good and Evil are only mere concepts talked about by people who cannot differentiate one from the other! People who would never understand what we had sacrificed for the greater good! There is no good, nor is there any evil! _There is only what is right for our people!"_

"If by doing what is right for our people is to massacre those who are innocent, then I _don't want_ to do the right thing! Dark Pulse!"

Mega Houndoom knocked garchomp back with a powerful Dark Pulse. Krookodile emerged from the ground on our right as that happened, catching us by surprise once more. However, exeggutor sensed the attack coming this time and knocked it away with a Wood Hammer.

"Mamoswine, gliscor, krookodile, return! Garchomp, Outrage!"

I clicked my tongue in frustration. For Giovanni to suddenly recall his pokemon without a good reason to, he must have found out about the Perish Song. It seems that we didn't manage to hide it well enough. The effect of umbreon's Mean Look seemed to have worn off prematurely as well.

Garchomp continued on its rampage and we could only run. By the time the Outrage wore off, Giovanni had called out the remainder of his team once more while recalling garchomp. This time, Giovanni's remaining pokemon are no longer affected by the Perish Song.

"Jayce, without a doubt you are one of the most dangerous trainers I have ever faced." Giovanni told me with a serious look. "I haven't been pushed this far since SKIP's downfall. You might not understand and accept what I am doing, but I will make you see reason. I told you, each of Ariana's and my chosen Executives are our good friends. I forgive you. I can let this issue go if you surrender right now and swear your loyalty to Team Rocket. Please do not put up futile resistance. Your body cannot sustain Mega Evolution any longer. Look at you."

Giovanni is right. I can barely stand. The only reason why I can move around the battlefield right now is because I am riding on drapion's back. I still don't know how Giovanni found out about the Perish Song. I am out of options and it doesn't seem that help from the League would be arriving anytime soon, if there is any. My vision is blurring as he speaks. My hearing is starting to fail me.

To make things worse, weavile's Embargo would end soon. Mega Houndoom could use Embargo, but Giovanni would be a fool to let the same trick get him twice. There's no way in hell he will let me do that.

I guess this is it for me.

I looked back at my pokemon who are still standing around me. They are all worn out and heavily injured, but willing to stand with me till the very end of the line.

I could not ask for a better team.

I gave my last order.

"No matter what happens, just keep going. Everything that we had done and sacrificed, it's for today. We are not backing down. I'm not accepting any objections."

My pokemon acknowledged my order immediately. Honchkrow used a Tailwind followed by another Perish Song to give Giovanni another three minutes time limit. Drapion stood in front of us while umbreon and Mega Houndoom stood at the back and fired attacks in Giovanni's direction indiscriminately. Exeggutor continues to fulfil his role as our defender by putting up Light Screens and Reflects as zoroark continues to lurk about at some unseen corner, ready to get a hit in once the opportunity presents itself.

We pushed onwards as the earth ruptured once more. Umbreon vanished in a Feint Attack as he went straight for Giovanni, forcing krookodile to forgo its offense in order to protect its trainer. Honchkrow zipped right into the backlines of our enemies, trying to cause as much mayhem as she possibly can in order to distract Giovanni's pokemon from our heavy hitters.

My fingers curled and twisted behind my back out of Giovanni's sight. Trusting that zoroark had seen the cue that I had given, I jumped off from drapion's back and landed on mega houndoom's instead. However, zoroark would give them the illusion that I am still on drapion's back and thus they would go for drapion instead of mega houndoom.

We continue to charge ahead with reckless abandon, knowing that our time limit from Perish Song will be approaching soon. The remainder of my team fell one after the other in quick succession, having already done their best in lasting as long as they could on this impossible mission. The only ones left are zoroark and mega houndoom.

Mega houndoom made a leap. Giovanni's garchomp got in our way and bodily blocked mega houndoom from advancing forward. Mega houndoom roared and bit down with a Fire Fang at the same spot where ninetales had injured it earlier, inflicting nasty burns on garchomp and causing it to scream in pain.

We are now close enough, so I jumped off from mega houndoom's back and over the garchomp, rushing for Giovanni who is standing behind his garchomp just a few metres away. The dagger which I had used to kill so many people before slipped comfortably into my hand and I lunged.

I will end Giovanni, using whatever it takes.

_"You are a good man."_

_"I think I would beg to differ, but if you say so."_

I am close. _I am very close_. It's like the time around us slowed down just to magnify this very moment. I knew zoroark's illusion had been dispelled because it is obvious that Giovanni had already spotted me the moment I am within range. Zoroark must have fallen as well, but it's fine. I am the Rocket's Exterminator. At this range, I cannot miss.

_"Speaking of which, I need an IT expert to work for me in my gym, just to ensure that all the high tech stuff runs smoothly and all that. The previous one that worked for me just resigned. You interested?"_

_"Sorry, but I think I will pass. I love my current job as it is. I think there is a purpose for me being there."_

_"Ah, a pity. I guess I will have to continue my search for one. I'm sure that a good man like you will undoubtedly go far in your career no matter what path you choose. Do me a favour and drop by my gym for a visit if you ever have a person in mind, okay?"_

_"Sure thing." _

I saw how Giovanni's eyes widened in disbelief when he spotted just how close I am to him. To him, I had just mysteriously reappeared in front of him when I should have been on drapion's back far ahead. I could see how my dagger is being held in my hand, outstretched and ready to find its mark on Giovanni's neck. Giovanni had instinctively taken a step backwards but he wouldn't be fast enough.

_"The other half of the wine, Alice and I will keep it for now. Once everything is over and we return victorious, we will finish the remaining half together at the Indigo Plateau when the Indigo is no more." _

Giovanni stumbled. I pushed myself forward, trying to push the unnecessary emotions and memories away from my mind.

I don't need them to hinder me, especially right now.

_"That is our promise to each other, as comrades, and as family."_

An uncontrollable hotness welled up within my eyes. My vision blurred. For some reason I don't understand, I could not block out my emotions like how I had done so since Jane died. I had never failed an assassination no matter the circumstances and targets assigned, not even _once_.

But for some reason, this time, I had failed. For some reason that even I do not know why, my dagger stopped short just a centimeter or two away from Giovanni's neck.

And I have no idea why this was the case. I could tell that even Giovanni was surprised at this turn of events.

However, whatever that caused me to hesitate only lasted for one short second, the crucial second that could have had Giovanni killed just exactly like how I had killed Jane. Three hundred and fifty-eight lives had been sacrificed for this moment. This is a chance that was made possible because of their efforts and sacrifices, _I cannot stop here_.

So, this time, I shove all of my thoughts and emotions away and let my dagger move once more. I cannot fail. Not here, not right now.

I will apologise to Giovanni in the afterlife when I meet him there.

"Stone Edge!"

_What?_

I don't know what happened. The only thing I recognised was pain. Extremely thin and sharp spikes of rock stabbed through me and I coughed up blood.

_No bloody way._ That Stone Edge. _No way._

How? I don't understand. Where did that Stone Edge come from? I'm very sure that this Stone Edge didn't come from any of Giovanni's pokemon that we were fighting earlier. In that case, then which pokemon did it? How did none of us see this coming?

_How?_

With great difficulty, I tried to turn my head, spotting my team laying on the ground, defeated and unconscious. Their injuries are grievous. They had given it their all and this is the result. I know this is going to happen when we attempted to stop Giovanni but-

_We lost, and it's all my fault._

I can hardly move due to the number of rock spikes impaling my body in various places. My vision is fading and my hearing is dulling, but I can recognise Giovanni walking up to me. Is he going to deal the final blow?

Strangely enough, I don't feel fear. I feel strangely at peace.

For once in a long while, my heart doesn't feel heavy.

I failed, but I had done my best. I'm fine with the results. I can only hope that Giovanni would be kind enough to not kill my pokemon. They deserved better. They deserved a better life and a better trainer. I could not ask for a better team, but they deserved better instead of living that kind of horrid life with me.

It's starting to get really hard to stay awake. There's no point in staying awake anyway, so I closed my eyes and waited for death to claim me. It won't be long now, a minute or two at the most, perhaps. All I know is that the Rocket's Exterminator will no longer need to reap lives any further. It's a good thing.

Jane, I'm coming.

Had I done well? I did good, right? I tried my best. With the exception of my identity and existence, I had revealed everything I know about Project Illusion through SKIPedia, something that even Giovanni never knew I did. People are going to find out about Project Illusion, people are going to know about what you had sacrificed.

Most importantly, you will now be remembered after what I've done. I had made sure that the whole world knows who you are and what you sacrificed. Not just for you, but for all 358 of you. Each and every one of you will no longer be a nameless face that was sacrificed in the shadows, but heroes of an entire nation. You will be known, _you will be remembered_.

People will remember the three hundred and fifty-eight of you, for what everyone had sacrificed to protect the peace of Indigo.

Did you hear that, Jane? We completed our mission. Project Illusion is a complete success. We protected Indigo.

I cannot wait to see you again, to hear you sing again. I'm so happy right now. There's no longer a need for the Rocket's Exterminator or Operative 2046 to exist any longer. We are free.

I can finally rest.

We can finally rest.

_I'm just so happy._

* * *

**Character and Pokemon List:**

**Name: Jayce**

**Age: 22**

**Official Identity: Jacob Myers**

**Real identity: Oldest son to Grimsley Dandolos**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1.** **Ninetales, female **

**2.** **Exeggutor, male**

**3.** **Weavile, male**

**4.** **Honchkrow, female**

**5.** **Gengar, female **

**6.** **Houndoom, male **

**7.** **Umbreon, male**

**8.** **Hydreigon, male **

**9.** **Drapion, female **

**10.** **Zoroark, male**

**11.** **Bisharp, male**

**12.** **Shiftry, male**

**13.** **Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**

**Name: Giovanni**

**Viridian Gym Leader, Leader of Team Rocket**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Nidoking**

**2\. Nidoqueen**

**3\. Rhyperior**

**4\. Golem**

**5\. Sandslash**

**6\. Marowak**

**7\. Garchomp**

**8\. Gliscor**

**9\. Krookodile**

**10\. Hippowdon**

**11\. Dugtrio**

**12\. Mamoswine**


	26. Chapter 25- Coda

Champion and Elite Four his ass. They couldn't even release him from the M2 Bind in time. If it wasn't for that Electric Specialist interfering and giving the Elite Four an opening, who knows how long he would be dancing in Giovanni's palm under the M2 Bind's control.

But now, he's finally free and more than ready to rampage.

According to the arrangement he had with Jayce, this is the time where he offers his help to Indigo and helps to quickly suppress Team Rocket's forces in Kanto. The M2 Bind had sapped away a lot of his strength the moment it sensed that he wasn't following Giovanni's programmed instructions and it would take awhile even for a powerful being like him to fully recover, but there is still enough left in him to help.

The worrying thing is that because of the M2 Bind sucking so much of his power away before he was freed, he hasn't been able to sense Jayce's psychic signature from quite some time back. He only knows that Jayce is off tracking Giovanni down. Even Jayce doesn't know for sure where Giovanni could be, so he had to personally search for Giovanni and then have Nosy send his location to someone capable to help finish Giovanni off. Who that 'someone' is really depends on who Nosy can find right now among this mess.

_'Jayce? Jayce! Where are you right now?'_

It's no use, there's no answer. Jayce better be alive or he would have lost his only friend.

There's nothing Mewtwo can do now but to place his faith in Jayce's plans and hope for the best. That doesn't mean he cannot take his anger out on those Team Rocket wretches as he teleported himself from city to city and let his power run rampant, quickly quelling the unrest that is starting to erupt in Kanto's cities. No doubt they are doing so under Giovanni's orders, making use of the confusion and mayhem to create even more trouble for the Indigo such that they couldn't focus their full attention on Johto.

It's really like what Jayce had said. Giovanni is having people to sow chaos in Kanto to serve as a distraction for what is to come in Johto. That's why he has to hurry. He is Mewtwo. Even in his temporary weakened state, he is a force to be reckoned with.

With his psychic powers, it is easy for him to tell apart friend from foe and hunt them down with precision. Even when he is not in peak condition right now, it is easy for him to go from place to place and demolish each and every of Team Rocket's bases that Jayce had him memorised while he was still in that damn tank. Before the day is over, Mewtwo is sure that there will no longer be a place where Team Rocket can hide in Kanto because _he is Mewtwo_.

Once he is done with his assigned job, he will immediately go and look for Jayce and back him up regardless about what he said about staying away from Giovanni as far as possible. These Kanto Gym Leaders are _useless_. Can't even take care of a simple Team Rocket mob if it wasn't for him going from place to place to clean up the mess on Jayce's request.

Jayce should have been Champion and rule this land instead of that stupid lizard tamer. These humans are all _idiots_. No wonder Jayce had to lead such a hard life if these morons are the people that they are supposed to help save from Team Rocket's nefarious plans.

Hopeless, the lot of them.

* * *

He could still hear the rapid thumping of his heartbeat drumming away in his ears.

Giovanni watched as Jayce's grip over the dagger started to loosen little by little before the dagger dropped onto the ground with a dull clank. Jayce's body went limp before going still and it was then Giovanni finally snapped out of the trance he was in.

He should have died. By all rights he had lost that battle the moment Jayce reappeared right in front of him without him any wiser. By all rights, he should have died the moment Jayce lunged at him with that dagger in hand.

By all rights, the victor should have been the Rocket's Exterminator. If Jayce hadn't hesitated for that split second there's no way he could have won, strongest Gym Leader of Kanto or not. This isn't a League regulated battle with rules in place, this is a no holds barred deathmatch with the stakes being your very own life. It doesn't matter how many pokemon are defeated, the victor is the person who manages to kill the opposing trainer.

That was truly one of the hardest battles that he had fought. Jayce had beaten him, fair and square, using every single trick in the book. Giovanni is not afraid to admit that.

Jayce is a unique trainer. He is not strong. He doesn't have the required firepower needed to even qualify himself within the upper tier of the Elite Trainer community save a select few of his pokemon, but he's _dangerous_. He's so very dangerous that it is not even remotely funny if you found him as your enemy. He's so lethal that even a former Elite Four like him would lose if he so much as took a single wrong step during the entire course of the battle, just as how the battle earlier should have turned out.

If his team didn't spot that Perish Song that they all nearly missed, it really would have been over for him long ago. It was by sheer luck that they spotted it. What a dirty trick, covering up the use of Perish Song with another sonic attack like Screech. Simple, but effective.

Also extremely deadly.

A humongous steelix emerged from the ground behind him. This is another of his trump cards, another ground type who can undergo Mega Evolution. Giovanni still could not believe it, that Jayce had pushed him this far without the knowledge of him having this additional pokemon under his command. That gigantic hole that Jayce was dropped into which helped bring down his insanely powerful hydreigon and the very last attack, that Stone Edge that stopped Jayce from killing him and also stopped Jayce from killing himself through overuse of Mega Evolution, it was all steelix's doing.

Numbers wise, this wasn't a fair battle to start with. Jayce wasn't going up against twelve pokemon like he thought he was, it had always been thirteen. The one and only dirty trick he used against the Rocket's Exterminator was the only thing that had saved his life and ended the battle.

For some reason, Giovanni found this notion weirdly ironic.

If Giovanni wasn't aware of how tricky and downright dirty Jayce can be as a Dark Specialist, he would never have thought of releasing steelix without Jayce knowing when he called it out to battle. That was done in that short period of time while he himself was still hidden, right when his marowak purposely brought down the entire hideout when everything first started. The only point of using that dramatic opening move was to hide the fact that he had called steelix out and have it hide deep underground before Jayce knew of its existence.

It was also by sheer luck that steelix wasn't affected by that Perish Song because it happened to be burrowing deep underground when Perish Song was used, out of range of the effects of Perish Song. It was how they noticed that Perish Song was actually being used at all. Dugtrio and steelix had secretly worked together to create a network of tunnels underground which has been instrumental in helping steelix use its unique senses to spy on Jayce and his pokemon from underneath the earth the entire time, thereby providing them crucial information and allowing them to control the flow of the battle the entire time.

If Jayce had realised that there was more to that very first Earthquake, the outcome of this battle might have been very different.

It was obvious that Jayce would not stop no matter what happened to him. It was why Giovanni had decided to resort to stopping Jayce forcefully because sustaining Mega Evolution for any longer would have killed Jayce otherwise. Extremely thin spikes of rock had impaled Jayce from different angles, immobilising him and taking him out. Steelix had understood his intentions. They had purposely not made the attack fatal, because it is not his intention to kill Jayce. Those spikes had missed his vital organs on purpose. That Stone Edge would hurt and it certainly _looked _like it could kill, but it is definitely not enough to kill anyone.

For now, Jayce would live. He will get him the best medical attention Team Rocket has to offer and Jayce _will _recover without a single scar. Jayce is just a lost child dealt with a really bad hand, Giovanni can understand the rage he is feeling and the reason why he absolutely must go against him and the organisation. Understanding could only be reached when people bared their hearts to each other and that was what they did in this battle, even if it meant risking their lives.

That was why he indulged Jayce in an official battle. Part of it was his respect towards Jayce as a fellow trainer, part of it was because he wanted to give Jayce the normalcy of a Gym Challenge experience that he was denied for all his life, part of it was because he knew the conflict between them can never be resolved unless they fight it out with their lives on the line.

Part of it was also because Jayce is a good man and also a good friend no matter what anyone would say. He would never have thought that someone so kind would be an exemplary Dark Specialist. There's a good reason why a good number among the scant few accomplished Dark Specialists in PWL's history are incorrigible villains and why dark types are named _dark _types. There's a reason why dark types are seen as the embodiment of evil in the olden days.

Those who had truly understood the darkness and wielded its true powers very rarely used it for the greater good. It takes a special kind of heart, mindset, and talent to be able to do so, just like how Jayce had succeeded in doing so. He is someone who will truly fight for the greater good. In this regard, Jayce is really one of a kind. He is an anomaly even among Dark Specialists.

He is also a really really kind child. Too kind for his own good. Someone like him should theoretically never succeed in becoming a Dark Specialist and yet, here he is, almost managing to kill Kanto's strongest Gym Leader at the young tender age of…

Giovanni took a pause.

Right, whatever he thought he knew about Jayce as Jacob Myers are probably fabricated too. If Jayce doesn't even know his real name he probably had no clue of his real age either.

Fucking Kain.

After this, surely Jayce would see his point. He may have first become their organisation's Exterminator through Archer's nomination after his heartless deed, but Giovanni knew better. He knew that look in Jayce's eyes the first time they met each other in person in Viridian.

There is no way Jayce is a heartless man. Jayce is good at deception, but his eyes do not lie. His eyes had said it all. He is good at spilling the blood of others but that is what he hated the most. Giovanni could tell whether a person is truly kind after being involved in the underground world for so long. The fact that Giovanni is still alive and breathing now is also proof of this. Jayce is the kind of man that his Team Rocket truly needs to make Kanto a better place.

Above all, Jayce is a kind man.

Despite everything that had happened, his view of Jayce still doesn't change. He is a good man. The new Kanto that he had envisioned needs people like him. Like his Executives, Jayce is one of the few people that he had acknowledged and trusted with his life.

This is all _Kain's _fault. It is _always _his fault things turned out like this.

He turned such a good man onto such a suicidal path and forced him into such a dark life against his will. He wouldn't put it past Kain to have brainwashed Jayce somehow with his hypno without Jayce even realising it. Good thing that hypno was gone. As a precautionary measure, he would have to ask his doctors to check on Jayce's brain later on. If there was indeed a Hypnosis used on Jayce then it will have to be removed.

Still, Giovanni cannot help but sigh upon taking in Jayce's current state.

"All of that effort, and for what?"

Giovanni walked forward till he stood in front of Jayce, who is now unconscious and unable to move with all the rock spikes impaling him. Jayce's eyes are closed and there actually is a peaceful smile on his face. Somehow, it made Giovanni's heart hurt even more just by looking at it.

Just _what _kind of life had Jayce led for him to be so happy at the thought of finally being able to die?

Remembering that Jayce's honchkrow had used another Perish Song again just right before it was defeated, Giovanni swiftly recalled his remaining pokemon before letting them out again, easily cancelling the effects of Perish Song. He then released a blissey out of its pokeball, who immediately got around to heal the injuries of his remaining pokemon that are still conscious with Soft-Boiled, Heal Pulse, and Heal Bell. Giovanni couldn't help but let his hand gently touch the side of Jayce's face, feeling a sense of regret for having to do this to him.

To him, Jayce is just another child. An extremely talented one, but an innocent child. Like the rest of Kanto's masses, Jayce is a child of Kanto that he was tasked to protect as the Gym Leader of Viridian and yet failed spectacularly.

He failed as Kanto's protector, again. Jayce's plight is also partly his fault. If SKIP hadn't failed, Jayce wouldn't have needed to lead such a life. Jayce could be so much _more _if he was allowed to live a normal life. He's so young but he has talent in spades, more so than his other Executives. He would definitely have qualified as a candidate for Kanto's Thirteen Pillars in the new Kanto he had envisioned.

If SKIP had succeeded and Kanto were freed two decades ago, Jayce could have been so much more than he is now. He definitely would have made a name for himself in the region by now and also quite possibly across the world with that kind of talent. For all Giovanni knows Jayce could very possibly qualify himself as a Dark Master by the time he reaches his age, an honour that less than ten Dark Specialists ever attained throughout the PWL's long history.

If SKIP had succeeded, _if they had succeeded_, Jayce wouldn't be another nameless shadow whose light had been devoured by the darkness. He would be recognised, he would be known. If it weren't for the mess Kain created, if Kanto had successfully declared independence more than twenty years ago and is now peaceful and free from Indigo's oppressive rule, he himself would have snatched Jayce up and taken him under his wing to groom him as the successor that will one day take up the title of Viridian Gym Leader.

Jayce could have everything. He wouldn't be nameless like he is now, having nothing to his name and having none of his sacrifices recognised.

Giovanni could not help but clench his fists upon the thought. He's angry. As to where and who this anger is directed to, even he could not tell if he's angrier at his own failure or at the bastard Kain.

_This is all Kain's fault. _

Today, he will rectify things. Not just for his deceased family and his fallen SKIP comrades, not just for his ideals, not just for the greater good of Kanto.

For Jayce as well. To him, Jayce is the representation of his failure to make peaceful separation of Kanto a reality more than twenty years ago. Jayce is the result of his failure and he has every responsibility to right every wrong that had befell this innocent child and three hundred and fifty eight others. No child should have been forced to live the life they led, all because adults like him couldn't get their act together.

Besides, Ariana said that Silver seems to take a liking to Jayce. Jayce would make a good role model and brother to little Silver. People who could always make decisions for the greater good are people that Giovanni will always hold in high regards.

Giovanni made a promise as he took another look at Jayce's unconscious form.

"Don't worry, I won't let you die. Long ago, I had given you my word that Team Rocket will save you and that hasn't changed. Saving Kantonians was the very purpose of our organisation's founding despite the methods we employed. This is not your fault, Jayce. It is Kain's, it is mine. All the wrongs that you and the other 358 operatives had suffered, we adults should be the ones to take responsibility for it and this is what I will do, starting from now. You are still my friend, come hell or high water, and I would do _anything _for a friend."

Maybe becoming a father had really changed him. Even Ariana had teased him for becoming a lot softer lately.

He turned his attention back to his remaining pokemon. Their superficial injuries had healed thanks to blissey, but it will take some time for them to go back to tip top shape. A single day at the very least with how intense and violent their battle was. Hippowdon's right eye had been blinded by Jayce's zoroark and it doesn't seem like it was bothered by it. Still, that is not an injury that can ever be healed. His nidoking and nidoqueen had been killed by Jayce's gengar, that is two powerhouses gone and not something that can be replaced anytime soon.

Jayce had really pulled out all the stops just for a chance of stopping him.

Regardless, he will need to get _more _ground types on his team after this is over. He will need _more _firepower on his team for what is to come. He needs to be _more _than he is now. He wasn't expecting this battle, and even when he had heard of Jayce's capabilities many times before he had still underestimated just how _dangerous _the Rocket's Exterminator truly is.

Truly, Jayce is an exemplary trainer and Dark Specialist.

Garchomp raised its head into the sky and Giovanni turned to see what had gotten his pokemon's attention. A dragonite arrived onto the scene and for a moment, Giovanni thought that Lance had somehow found him. However, the person riding the dragonite is a Ranger that he doesn't recognise. However, he does recognise the other passenger.

_"Giovanni."_

"Samuel." Giovanni respectfully greeted the Champion that he had once worked under. The aged professor hopped off dragonite's back the moment it landed. Samuel obviously knows he is the mastermind now. Even in old age, Samuel Oak is not a trainer to be trifled with.

Why is _Samuel _here? How did he even get wind of his location? Was this Jayce's plan all along, to stall him long enough and prevent him from personally taking part in the operation until someone capable comes to stop him? To weaken him enough so that whoever comes right after to seek battle will have better chances of putting him down?

Huh, crafty. As expected from Jayce.

"Skye, please extract that young man out of here for emergency treatment as soon as you can."

The facial expression of the Ranger changed the moment she spotted Jayce.

"But Professor! I _know _that man! _He's a **Rocket**!_ A really dangerous one! We faced each other on more than one occasion!"

"She's right." Giovanni said with a grin on his face. "He's one of my most capable subordinates. Samuel, meet Executive Plague, the Rocket's Exterminator. The attack on Johto National Park? That was his doing."

"You said _your subordinate_, and your response is to stab him like that?!" Samuel seethed. "The you of before _wouldn't _have done something like this! You have changed, Giovanni!"

"Time changes people, Samuel. You of all people should know this." Giovanni sighed before looking back at Jayce. "He's just lost his direction, and he pushed me far enough such that there was no other way to stop him. I planned to have him rejoin Team Rocket as one of the organisation's leaders after he made a full recovery."

Samuel looked as if he might burst a blood vessel anytime now given how cruel the sight of Jayce getting impaled by rock spikes looks like. Samuel and his compassionate heart. It seems that some things still don't change with time. No wonder he was Champion. He's worthy to be one.

Wonder what would Samuel's reaction be if he knew the full truth?

"I still have no idea _exactly _what he had done behind my back all this while, but be thankful to this child, Samuel, for Indigo would definitely have fallen by now if it wasn't for him. Do you know that he had been a _double agent_ all along? Even with the kind of life he led, his loyalty had always been to Indigo. He has been working for Team Rocket for more than a decade and it was only today that I found out that he's the one responsible for single handedly hampering whatever we had planned. Violet City would have been under Team Rocket's control by now if it wasn't for him locating me and then stalling for time through facing me in a suicidal battle, knowing all along that he will pay the price with his life. Oh how we had _failed_, Samuel, that a _child _like him was forced to pick up after our messes, because we _adults _had **_failed_**."

With a simple wordless command from Giovanni, the earth exploded in Samuel's direction. Giovanni smirked when he finds out that the Professor came out unscathed, his pokemon team already released for battle.

As expected from the Undefeated Oak.

"**Skye!** It doesn't matter if that young man is a Rocket or not! _You are a Ranger!_ Saving lives is your duty! I cannot fight at full power here with him like this and his fainted pokemon lying around! Please!"

"I-I got it!"

"I won't let you take him away! Garchomp, Earthquake!"

To Giovanni's surprise, garchomp was unable to use Earthquake to create a path through Samuel's team. From the look on Samuel's face, he wasn't the culprit either.

"Bulldoze!"

Garchomp immediately switched tactics upon his command and Giovanni tried to think back on what could have happened to result in garchomp being unable to use Earthquake. It must be Jayce's doing, no doubt, but what _exactly _did he do?

His eyes widened in realisation when he finally thought of it. _His ninetales_. The last cry it let out before it fainted wasn't simply because it was in pain after receiving the full brunt of the Earthquake. That was Grudge, a move whose effects will kick in if the user faints in battle. The move that knocked the user out could not be used again until at least a single day is over. In garchomp's case, that move was Earthquake. With that, one of his strongest powerhouses, garchomp, now lacks the most powerful ground type attack in his battle with Samuel.

Even in his heated battle with the previous Champion of Indigo, Giovanni cannot help but mentally praise and curse Jayce at the same time. That sneaky little-

Giovanni counted his lucky stars that his blissey had already healed the members of his team that had not yet fainted back to full health and even removed the poison status that Jayce had inflicted on his entire team. With Jayce's honchkrow out of the count, Taunt and Torment are no longer in effect. He can now fight his former Champion with more freedom, albeit not at full strength.

"Gliscor! Swords Dance, Stone Edge!"

Gliscor launched a powerful Stone Edge at Samuel but it was easily disposed of when Samuel's tauros came charging through it without stopping. The female Ranger had also somehow used this brief window of opportunity and cut Jayce away from the rock spikes, letting it remain stabbed in his body to prevent him from bleeding out. It also seemed that the Ranger had somehow found Jayce's pokeballs and returned all of Jayce's pokemon back into it.

This isn't good.

"Don't let her leave with Jayce! Rock Slide!"

"You should be focusing your attention on me! Hydro Cannon! Frenzy Plant!"

The powerful attacks unleashed by Samuel's blastoise and venusaur forced Giovanni and his team to defend themselves instead of preventing that Ranger from escaping with Jayce in her hands. Giovanni cannot help but be worried. He is not naive. He knows full well of the fate of his subordinates who got themselves captured by the League. Death is a much kinder option than landing themselves in their hands. Jayce does not deserve whatever punishments the Indigo will sentence him to. He had slaved himself for his entire life to protect Kanto's peace. He deserves a better fate.

Too bad for Samuel, he still has other pokemon that he can use.

"Alakazam! Take him back to Ariana!"

His alakazam is not a battler. It is trained for one job and one job only, and that is teleportation. Usually, alakazam's usual duties is to bring him to places that he needs to be at. However, in circumstances like this it can also be used to easily conduct a rescue.

With alakazam's speed and expertise in using Teleport, the Ranger never stood a chance.

"Fuck!"

"Skye, forget it! Just leave this to me! Go to places where you are needed! I have this handled!"

"Roger! Win, Professor!"

Giovanni didn't make a move to prevent the Ranger from leaving. Letting such a small fry go is inconsequential. Both him and Samuel used this chance to catch a breather, unanimously deciding to take a pause in their battle.

"If you are here, that means that you know. But how much do you know?"

"I know _enough_." Samuel gritted out. "Anything that I don't know, I pieced it out myself. I can't believe that you actually created Mewtwo behind our backs, Giovanni. I can't believe that you turned SKIP into… _this_."

"It's all for Kanto!** For her people!**" Giovanni roared out. "Don't be **_naive_**, Samuel! You had **_always _**been too **_naive!_** Don't you **_dare _**turn a blind eye to the sufferings our people had to go through under Kain's administration! _All these years!_ All these years, Kanto had _always _been suffering, **_always! ALWAYS!_** _It's ALWAYS **US**!_"

"That doesn't justify starting a **_war!_**" Samuel roared out just as loud as their battle resumed. "What happened to peaceful separation?!"

"And what did that bring us? The **_death _**of our comrades and my family!" Giovanni seethed as he commanded steelix to whip up a sandstorm. "The death of my family and my friends and no change to Kanto's circumstances! We were being used as fucking scapegoats for Kain's own misdeeds, Samuel! I cannot take this lying down! If peace is not an option, then I will bring about a war to make things **_right!_**"

He revealed the bracelet around his wrist and without hesitation, used Mega Evolution on his steelix.

"Do you know how **_far _**we failed, Samuel?!" Giovanni bellowed as his Mega Steelix rampaged across the battlefield, forcing his opponent to go on the defensive. "The young man you told the Ranger to save? That double agent? The young man who despite being a kind child himself and an even better friend, **_forced _**himself to stop me?! Do you know **_who _**he truly is?!"

As if sensing his rage, Mega Steelix roared as the earth groaned painfully.

"He doesn't even **_know _**who he is! **_Nobody _**does! He was a double agent Kain sent to stop Team Rocket, a child spy who doesn't recall who or what he is before he landed himself in Kain's hands! Why, I bet Kain had his hypno brainwashed him to let him do his bidding, just like how it did to our comrades before SKIP was extinguished! That's something that bastard will do! That boy doesn't even have a goddamn **_name _**when I asked him! All he has are codenames and the closest he had to a name was one that his lover gave him before he was **_forced to kill her! BECAUSE THEY ARE SPIES WORKING FOR THE CORRUPT INDIGO! THE INDIGO THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO PROTECT!_**"

His Mega Steelix unleashed an Earthquake that split the earth.

"Project Illusion! Kain's secret project to raise **_child _**spies to do his bidding! **_Children _**that he abducted from who knows where! **FROM OUR HOMELAND!** That was where Jayce told me he came from when he was assigned to spy on Team Rocket with his lover when they were still **_children!_** **_CHILDREN_**, Samuel! He and his lover were forced to spy on Team Rocket against their will because **_WE failed!_** He is the last of **_three hundred and fifty nine children _**sacrificed for this cause! Can you imagine it? **THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY NINE!** Everyone except for him is already dead and the cause is **_ME!_** The cause is **_US!_** Because **_WE, FAILED!_**"

Mega Steelix single handedly pushed the entirety of Samuel's team back as his emotions continued to fuel the power of Mega Evolution, the bond between him and his pokemon growing stronger and stronger.

"What was SKIP's mission, huh?! We wanted to see Kanto's children smile again, to see them grow happily and carefree and not trapped in this cycle of poverty and exploitation that Kain and Johto imposed on us! We fucking **_failed!_** It's only during my battle with him that I realised Jayce is proof of how _far **we **_had **_failed!_** Because of the mistakes **_we _**adults made, children like Jayce had suffered! Three hundred and fifty nine had suffered! They are not the first and they will not be the last if we allow this to continue! Heavy Slam!"

His Mega Steelix attempted to crush Samuel's gyarados but it got away. Mega Steelix wasn't discouraged but instead picked up the pace.

"This is why I will **_not _**stop! This is why I will **_not _**rest until the wrongs have been corrected! _Indigo is corrupted to the core!_ There is no hope for Kanto if she continues to be a part of Indigo! The _only way_ _forward _for us is to bring about a revolution! If you intend to get in my way then I _will _crush you too, Samuel! Don't blame me for being heartless from here on out! Mega Steelix, Flash Cannon!"

Mega Steelix unleashed a massive beam of energy at Samuel which Samuel's charizard responded with by firing a Blast Burn. The battle took a temporary pause as both trainers and their respective pokemon team sized each other up.

"Project Illusion. Three hundred and fifty nine lives. I see, so he is the last of them. I see now, he is Operative 2046, her partner. I've finally found him."

Samuel's soft voice grabbed Giovanni's attention. He could hear the range of complicated emotions within Samuel's voice in those few sentences.

"I should have done **_something _**a long time ago when I was the Champion. I should have done **_something _**even before SKIP was founded." Samuel clenched his fist as he too, revealed his own Key Stone hanging around his neck, hidden underneath his shirt all this while.

"It's my fault things turned out this way. It's my fault why people like the child you spoke of had to go through that kind of life, a life without a name. This is all my fault, I admit that, but that is why everything ends here, Giovanni. I will atone for my sins. Starting from now, **_I_** will make things right. **_The right way_**."

Samuel's charizard began to glow as it started to undergo the process of Mega Evolution.

"Giovanni! For Indigo,_ for a brighter future! _**I, Samuel Oak, WILL STOP YOU!**"

* * *

**Name: Jayce**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ninetales, female **

**2\. ****Exeggutor, male**

**3\. ****Weavile, male**

**4\. ****Honchkrow, female**

**5\. ****Gengar, female **

**6\. ****Houndoom, male **

**7\. ****Umbreon, male**

**8\. ****Hydreigon, male **

**9\. ****Drapion, female **

**10\. ****Zoroark, male**

**11\. ****Bisharp, male**

**12\. ****Shiftry, male**

**13\. ****Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless**

**Name: Giovanni Halston**

**Viridian Gym Leader, Leader of Team Rocket**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Nidoking (deceased)**

**2\. Nidoqueen (deceased) **

**3\. Rhyperior **

**4\. Golem **

**5\. Sandslash **

**6\. Marowak **

**7\. Garchomp **

**8\. Gliscor **

**9\. Krookodile **

**10\. Hippowdon **

**11\. Dugtrio **

**12\. Mamoswine **

**13\. Steelix **

**14\. Blissey **

**15\. Alakazam**

**Name: Samuel Oak**

**Previous Indigo Champion, Kanto Regional Pokemon Professor**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Charizard **

**2\. Blastoise **

**3\. Venusaur **

**4\. Tauros **

**5\. Exeggutor **

**6\. Gyarados **

**7\. Arcanine **

**8\. Alakazam **

**9\. Kangaskhan**


End file.
